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.

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.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,

    “I shall never be moved.”

7 By your favor, O Lord,

    you had established me as a strong mountain;

you hid your face;

    I was dismayed.

8 To 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?

10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!

    O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;

    you have taken off my sackcloth

    and clothed me with joy,

12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.

    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Reflection:
There is a scene in the Disney movie “Tangled” that reminds me of this scripture. Many of you know the old tale of Rapunzel and her long hair. You see, Rapunzel, the missing daughter of the king and queen, has been “quarantined” in the castle by an evil and manipulative woman, called Mother Gothel, for years. Mother Gothel kept Rapunzel to herself to benefit from her magical hair that heals. Ironically, this castle is in the kingdom of Corona… seriously. Rapunzel realizes that there’s a whole world out there that she would like to experience. So she manages to escape the castle and finds herself free and full of emotion. In this funny scene, Rapunzel says things like, “I can’t believe I did this!” with joy, but then quickly repeats that same phrase in a fearful tone. She runs joyfully saying, “this is so fun”, but seconds later says tearfully, “I’m a horrible daughter.” She dances about saying, “I’m never going back” then says, “I’m a despicable human being” with self-doubt and disappointment. We can all relate, right?

In this psalm, David shouts and sings “I extol You, God! I give You all the credit!” The words are because David has acknowledged that God has met him in his highs and in his lows. David, like the rest of us, had times in his life where he was angry with himself, others, and even God. Yet God was always there. In verse 2, David praises God for healing him when he cried out asking for God’s help. He thanks God in verse 3 for giving him another chance at life. We get those chances every single moment of every single day. I have made some great decisions in my life. I have made some really poor choices, too. I know that there have been times when I have angered or disappointed God by my choices or by my words. But here’s the amazing point that David reminds of. Verse 5 says that God’s anger only lasts but a moment. God’s favor lasts a lifetime. Joy comes in the morning. Nights of crying give way to days of laughter. 

All through the Psalms, we see David cry out to God because he feels left behind or ignored by God. Then he sings praises to God for His enduring love. God knows we are fickle creatures, tangled up in our everyday emotions of doing this thing called life. God knows that joy comes in the morning because God is joy. God knows we humans have a vast array of emotions because God created us in God’s image—God’s spiritual and emotional image. God understands our cries, pleas, grumblings, laughter, questioning, doubts, and our love. Because God “gets” us, we praise God, no matter how tangled we feel.

Closing Prayer:
Amazing God. We are a tangled web of emotions sometimes. We thank you for the never-ending love and patience you have for us. May we always know that you are in this messy life with us every step of the way. Every emotion we try to work through. We love You, God. Amen.