“I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up…O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me…Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks…Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
(Excerpts from Psalm 30)
I was drawn to this Psalm today. The Lord has brought me through some personal challenges lately and I know many of you have also been battling some giants. I am old enough to realize the truth of the old saying, “this, too, shall pass”. I am also human enough to know that the night is long and the sorrow is fierce when a Believer is engaged in a battle of the faith.
I looked Psalm 30 up in some other translations to try to gain insight. I want to share the entire Psalm 30 with you from The Message because I love how it reads. It is written just like I feel when I’m at my wit’s end and then the Lord, in His infinite mercy, pours out His grace and delivers me. See if you can hear your voice as well and then see if you can feel your spirit rise up with joy as you sense your Father’s pleasure.
“I give you all the credit, GOD – You got me out of that mess, You didn’t let my foes gloat. GOD, my God, I yelled for help and You put me together. GOD, You pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out. All you saints! Sing your hearts out to GOD! Thank Him to His face! He gets angry once in awhile, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.
“When things were going great I crowed, ‘I’ve got it made. I’m God’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.’ Then You looked the other way and I fell to pieces. I called out to You GOD; I laid my case before you. ‘Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead? Auction me off at a cemetery yard sale? When I’m “dust to dust” my songs and stories of You won’t sell. So listen! And be kind! Help me out of this!’
“You did it: You changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflower. I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about You. GOD, my God, I can’t thank You enough.”
“GOD, my God, I can’t thank You enough.”
SELAH. Pause and think about it.
Father, How can we ever thank You enough for Your faithfulness? Your patience? Your mercy? We give You praise as we consider the works of Your hands, Your thoughts towards us. Help us to experience the joy that David felt as he worshiped You in thanksgiving for delivering him from his enemies. Help us to sing and dance before You unashamed, full of joy. We love You, Lord.
Yes! It's a wonderful experience to be delivered from our spiritual enemies, especially after you've been battling them for a long time. I think one enemy women are particularly prone to is discouragement and depression. That's my experience, anyway. Those enemies are caused by (and cause) doubts and unbelief.
I find this message very similar to what God said to Paul: "My grace is sufficient." We all tend to become filled with conceit and arrogance, until the Lord removes (for a time) His presence and we fall into despair. So in the end, if we love the Lord, Satan's weapon against us can become a means to greater communion with God. By tribulations (and being delivered from them) be grow in our faith, as time and time again we taste and see God is faithful!
Amen, Carina!! I love the joy that is expressed with the words, "whirling dance". That is EXACTLY how a soul set free feels. Be blessed Carina, my new friend.
I've been in this position many times, and God faithfully delivered me. Thank God. I've spent my share of nights crying my heart out. God dried those tears and changed my life. Excellent. Loved this one. Blessings, Barb
You're so precious Barb. I'm right there with you! Love you girlfriend!