Psalm 30 (KJV): Weeping may last the night but joy will come in the morning

From Psalms

Psalm 30
(A psalm.  A song.  For the dedication of the temple.  Of David.)

¹I will extol thee, O LORD;
      for thou hast lifted me up,
      and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
²O LORD my God, I cried unto thee,
      and thou hast healed me.
³O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave (hebrew sheol):
      thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.


⁴Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his,
      and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
⁵For his anger endureth but a moment;
      in his favour is life:
weeping may endure for a night,
      but joy cometh in the morning.

⁶And in my prosperity I said,
      I shall never be moved.
⁷LORD, by thy favour thou
      hast made my mountain to stand strong:
thou didst hide thy face,
      and I was troubled.

⁸I cried to thee, O LORD;
      and unto the LORD I made supplication.
⁹What profit is there in my blood,
      when I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise thee?
      shall it declare thy truth?
¹⁰Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me:
      LORD, be thou my helper.

¹¹Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
      thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
¹²To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.
      O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Today, while reading I was reminded of some of the thoughts that got me started in this journey through psalms.  What was going through my head as I started this path of healing and recovery.  You see I enjoy running - and competing in marathons.  I train regularly.  I used to train more regularly.  Every week trying to train my body to go farther or faster.

So, when I started I wanted a marathon training program for my soul.  I knew that psalms could be that.  I knew that reading, or in my case, writing one psalm a day would give me a new ability to pray and, I hoped, would bring me closer to God.

This attitude was echoed, Wild at Heart, "A man will devote long hours of is finances when he has a goal of early retirement; he'll endure rigorous training when he aims to run a 10k or even a marathon.  The ability to discipline himself is there, but dormant for many of us."

So, how does this relate to this to psalm 30?  Well, my life was in a pit while I was in my addiction.  It was no coincidence either.  I was spiritually unfit.  Spiritually obese.  If there was a way to measure Body Mass Index for spirituality, mine might have been off the charts.  Now though, after some rigor, some fellowship, and a whole of guidance, he lifts me up.  God has brought me from the grave, the pit, a hell of addiction where my mourning is now dancing.

I may not be the equivalent of an Olympic athlete but at least I now consider myself healthy.  Which is more than I see in a world that suffers and struggles the same way I did.  Don't mistake this for pride - I am noting this because I know in time it will be my role to help others who struggle the way I did.  And a statement of hope.  That if I can do it, then so can they.  For we may be sad and weeping tonight, for the moment - but joy will come in the morning, and will last with us for the rest of our lives.

And so it is, God, that I will give thanks to thee forever.

Thanks for letting me share.