Mourning and Dancing

Over the Thanksgiving season, we were reflecting on God's unfathomable goodness to us in the past year, and some of the words of Psalm 30 repeatedly kept coming to mind. Truly, by His grace and mercy alone, God has turned our sorrow into laughter and our mourning into dancing. This is ultimately true in light of the gospel, as God has brought us out of our sin and misery and given us the joy of forgiveness and redemption in His Son. But a small microcosm of this was evident this year in the Lord making us mourn for one of our little ones last spring, and graciously giving us laughter and dancing with our second little one to be born in January, that we may "sing His praise and not be silent."

"I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
        and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
     O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
        and you have healed me.
     O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
        you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

    Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
        and give thanks to his holy name.
     For his anger is but for a moment,
        and his favor is for a lifetime.
    Weeping may tarry for the night,
        but joy comes with the morning.

    As for me, I said in my prosperity,
        'I shall never be moved.'
     By your favor, O LORD,
        you made my mountain stand strong;
    you hid your face;
        I was dismayed.

    To you, O LORD, I cry,
        and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
     '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?
     Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
        O LORD, be my helper!'

   You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
        you have loosed my sackcloth
        and clothed me with gladness,
     that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
        O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

 -Psalm 30:1-12