Depressive to manic?

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You have turned for me my mourning into dancing - Psalms 30:11

That's quite a statement isn't it?
It sounds a bit manic to me - mourning into dancing - great depths to great happiness - from lacking strength to get through the day to having so much joy one can not stand still - I think if those words were coming from my friend, I would be concerned about their mental health...

The Psalm begins "I will praise you Lord, for you have rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to you for help and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death."

So either David was a bit of a "drama queen" or he was in some serious trouble - and if you read in 1 and 2 Samuel, you'll see it was that latter. The man was like a lightening rod to trouble!

But here he's talking about how he's been rescued from this trouble, from enemies and death, and he's so relived he's dancing. I think it's a similar principle to what we find in Luke 7:37 when the immoral woman came and washed Jesus' feet with her hair and her tears. He said,“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Luke 7:37

One forgiven much, loves much; one rescued from much, praises much!

But haven't you also found that to be true?

I've just discovered this again recently.
There were no enemies, grave, or pit of death (sounds a bit like an Indiana Jones episode doesn't it?) but there was disappointment, confusion, and hurt. I didn't understand why all this had taken place; it made no sense, and left me sighing.

Notice the actual phrasing of the verse - "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing". If these were the psalms of Becky it would read "You have turned for me my sighing into grateful praise." The key concept here is that He has done the turning, the rescuing, the saving - it's not coming to the end of the rope, tying a knot and hanging on but it is being pulled out of danger and despair by the almighty hands of an attentive God.

That is something I love about God - He is attentive to us - "I love the Lord because He hears, and answers my prayers, because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!" Psalms 116:1

When God does the rescuing - when He is the one who, without our assistance, changes a situation from mourning to dancing, or sighing to praising, we can then say "You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!"

Whatever situation you find yourself in, from enemies and peril, or hurt and confusion recognize that, although this right now is so hard, that our God has the ability to turn it into cause for joy; genuine "I can't even believe it myself. I feel like dancing" joy!

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