There are moments in life when the night feels endless. You lie awake staring at the ceiling, replaying conversations, rehearsing fears, wondering how things fell apart so quickly. You pray…but heaven feels silent. You open your Bible…but the words seem distant. You go to worship…but joy feels like a foreign language everyone else speaks except you.

Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you’re there right now.

David once wrote, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him” (Psalm 42:5). That’s not a triumphant shout from a man standing on a mountaintop. That’s the quiet confession of someone in the valley who refuses to give up.

God does some of His greatest work in the dark. When Joseph was forgotten in prison, God was building a leader. When Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, God was redirecting a runaway heart. When the disciples thought all hope died at the cross, God was preparing a resurrection.

What feels like the end to you may simply be the middle of God’s story.

You don’t have to hide your hurt from God. He already knows the tears you’ve cried when nobody else was watching. The psalmist said, “Put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” (Psalm 56:8). The very things you think disqualify you from God’s love are the things that draw Him closest.

If you’re walking through a dark time, don’t mistake the darkness for the absence of God. The God who formed the stars in the night sky does not disappear when the sun goes down. He sits with you. He hears you. He loves you still. And He promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

One day, maybe sooner than you think, you will look back and realize that your breaking point became a turning point. Strength was forged. Faith grew deeper roots. And you came out of the fire not burned…but refined.

So tonight, if all you can pray is, “Lord, hear me,” that’s enough. He will. And though you may not be able to see it yet, morning is already on its way.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5

By: Justin Odom