Today's Meditation
Read Psalm 30
1I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
3O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
5For 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.
6As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
7By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
8To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
9“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
11You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
Notes for this psalm in the New Revised Standard Version mention that it was a song created for the dedication of the temple. When I read it, it doesn't sound like a very good dedication psalm to me, but what do I know. Well, there is verse 4, I suppose.
Personally, I'm more intrigued by the following verse. "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." This verse has meant a great deal to me when I am anxious and concerned, particularly when I feel that God has stopped listening to me or that God is angry with me. I lose sleep. I toss and turn throughout the night. I wake up sweating at 2am and can't get back to sleep. Nights can be awful when we are anxious, when we have no rest. When life was difficult, I'd spend my nights looking at the clock every 1/2 hour or so. Most people might wake up in the middle of the night and be glad to see that it is only 2am, knowing that they'd have another few hours of restful slumber. I'd wake up and be remorseful knowing that I had a few more hours of tossing and turning, hoping that 5:30/6:00 am would come sooner.
Because joy comes in the morning. Regardless of how little I'd slept, regardless of my difficult night, I'd know that the new day might bring hope. That I'd be able to work through the problem and find ways of solving whatever it was that caused me stress the day/night before. In times of calm, when I'd get a good night's rest, the morning would be just another affirmation of the day's blessings. For me, whether it is in times of worry or in times of bliss, joy always comes in the morning!
What about you? What joy fills your heart each day? What joy comes with the morning light?
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