Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, we are using Rachel Wojo’s Pure Joy reading challenge as a springboard for our ladies’ Bible study.  As indicated by the name of my blog, I am striving to find real joy in knowing my Saviour, as well as finding joy in the little things–and big things, too– of everyday life.

One of the passages for week two was Psalm 30:1-5.

A Psalm. A Song At the Dedication of the House of David.
I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

I admire David’s humble posture before the Lord.  He understands that his position as king and as victor over his enemies has little to do with who he is, but everything to do with who God is.  David recognized that while life can be messy, rife with sickness and oppression, his God would sustain him.

The same goes for us.  We have messy lives, too.  The same God who sustained David in trying times will be our strength as well.  When we belong to Him, we do not face our giants alone. Isn’t it beautiful?  While we may weep for a time, joy comes in the ‘morning’.  We may never be out from under the weight of difficult things in this short life, but He carries us through and promises us that we will have great joy ahead.  An eternity of joy with Him.

David prayed.  God answered. David gave Him all the glory.

Oh that I would be like David.  One whose first inclination is to cry out to God.  Who waited expectantly for the Father’s answer to his prayers.  Who gave all the glory to Him.

In our Bible study we also look at the acrostic for joy: Jesus, Others, You.  We use it as a stimulus to adopt an attitude of gratitude.  Simply put, each day as we look at our passage, we think of things for which we are thankful:  first for Jesus, then for other people in our lives and finally for personal blessings, including the simple things we take for granted.  I truly believe that a life lived in thankfulness (particularly to the Giver of all good gifts) is a life filled with joy and contentment (as discussed here).   I also talked about this framework as a means of setting personal priorities in my post, ‘Faithful and Full of Faith’.

I hope, as I intentionally look for the gifts He gives, not only in His response to my prayers, but in all the little things that make life more enjoyable, that a deeper love and gratitude for Him would flourish.

How about you?  Will you purpose with me today to be filled with thankfulness, to give Him all the glory?