Thanksgiving in Psalm 30
The Psalms reflect so much of life. Often times they are mixture of honest emotions regarding painful circumstances mixed with praise and thanksgiving. I feel some of the purest praise comes not when everything seems to be going well, but when we praise Him in the hard places, trusting that what we are saying is true regardless of what we see. Psalm 30 is a perfect example of this.
The first time I read Psalm 30, what jumped out at me is who God is in the verbs telling what He does:
v 1 lifter and deliverer
v 2 answerer of prayer and healer
v 3 preserver and life-giver
v 4 holy name
v 5 favor, comforter, and joy
v 6 provider, prosperity, and security
v 7 protector and strength
v 10 One who hears, has mercy, and helps
v 11 One who turns mourning into dancing and sackcloth to joy
But in the midst of these wonderful attributes, David referred to enemies, sickness, near-death experiences. He had real emotions of depression, weeping, desperation, dismay at unanswered prayer, mourning, and the sackcloth of fasting. David began the psalm with praise, praised God and gave thanks in the middle, and ended with praise and thanksgiving. In all his trials and adversity, he kept his eyes on God. None of the “bad” was bigger than God.
And that’s the point. God’s part is to deliver, heal, answer, preserve, and provide. Our part is to trust and allow that trust to turn to praise and Thanksgiving. When God delivers us, He brings us through life circumstances, not necessarily around them. And when we feel like we can’t praise Him, verse 11 tells us that He does that for us [too] as He turns our mourning into dancing and sackcloth to joy. I am so thankful that God has compassion on all He has made. When we can’t even muster words of praise instead of despair, He is there to do it for us in and in us.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US this week, we want to pause and say
Thank you, Father, for your never-ending love that holds us together through the good and the bad.
Thank you, Jesus, for your compassion care. You are acquainted with our grief and lead us with compassionate care.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your wisdom and might that allow our every breath to worship. Align all of who we are with You.
-Sylvia Gunter