Psalm 30

Psalm 30 (NRSV)
1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

Lord,
The poet give you thanks for having been brought up from the pit. He gives thanks for being healed. It seems clear to me that he could not have been brought up if he had not gone down! He could not have been healed if he had not been sick. Even the biblical poet gives testimony to the ebb and flow of the spiritual life. The unbroken brightness of spiritual bliss doesn’t happen here. Instead our walk with You is one that involves both the dark night of illness and the bright day of healing. Let me be neither surprised nor faithless in the dark times nor allow me to neglect you when all seems to be well.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

Lord,
The poet knows better than to expect You to protect him from all disturbance and difficulty. Faith is not an inoculation against hard times but is instead the anticipation that You will take us through the darkness toward the bright dawn of a fresh tomorrow. In the words of another generation’s wisdom, “This too shall pass.”
And here is another piece of wisdom demonstrated by the poet. He makes a point of saying “thank you.” He remembers the difficulty and he remembers who led him through and he remembers to say “thank you.” In his spirituality, there is an inherent gratitude. “Sing praises”, he says and “give thanks.”

Lord, to you I give my struggles of today. Some things seem too heavy to bear; some things are too heavy to bear without you. Help me to carry the load and keep me forever mindful of the poet’s wisdom that “weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” About some things we simply say, “This too shall pass.”



PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Give the sorrow of this day to God and ask God to take you to a brighter tomorrow.
Name 5 thing for which you are grateful and say “thank you” to God.
In Christ’s name,
Amen.