As you open the posting, first take some time and meditate on the verses that follow. Read them over slowly several times until something catches your attention. Then ponder on what got your attention before you read what I saw in the passage. Then come back to what you saw in the passage throughout your day.
Psalm 30
1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you restored my health.
3 You brought me up from the grave, O Lord.
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
4 Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 When I was prosperous, I said,
“Nothing can stop me now!”
7 Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.
8 I cried out to you, O Lord.
I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
9 “What will you gain if I die,
if I sink into the grave?
Can my dust praise you?
Can it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Help me, O Lord.”
11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
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Here is the passage that shows how God turns mourning into joy–even into joyful dancing. But the purpose of the joy is that I might sing praises to God and not be silent. Most of the time I seek joy in hopes that I can be joyful. But David gives the purpose of joy as being able to praise God.
I’m struck also by the fact that God’s anger lasts only for a moment. I can’t walk around thinking that God is always angry with me. His attitude towards me as his child is favor and it will last all my life.