From
Mourning to Rejoicing
Psalm 30
by Gene Easley
"Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing" (Ps. 30:11). There is hope for the troubled soul. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Ps. 30:5). If we cry unto Him, He will heal us (Ps. 30:2). He will hear and have mercy and be our helper (Ps. 30:10). He will put off my sackcloth and gird me with gladness (Ps. 30:11).
King David is credited with writing the 30th Psalm.
David’s troubles had been many from the day that Samuel anointed
him to be King. He was well
acquainted with hardships, sorrow and persecution.
He stood at the brink of death on numerous occasions.
Being crowned king and sitting upon the throne of
The Lord says in Ps. 30:7 that He will make our mountain strong.
Mountains in Scripture often represent nations or cities or places
of residence. They are the
places where we congregate, the places where our possessions lie.
Our mountain is a place the enemy would like to take from us and
leave us helpless, hopeless, and destitute.
The devil would like to take down our defense and break down our
stronghold for God. He would
like to destroy our testimony and our influence in this world.
But by the favor of God, our mountain can stand strong (v7).
God does not want us to live in defeat.
It is not His will that the enemy prevail over us.
Victory is a part of our inheritance in Christ.
Our God will make us strong!
We can cry unto God and make our supplications to Him (Ps.30:8), and the end result will be that He will put a song of praise in our hearts that can not be silenced (Ps 30:12). And our thanksgiving will be forever and ever (v12). The day will come when the mourning and the sackcloth will be forever put aside. Our rejoicing will be eternal. And even now, in a world that brings much sadness, God can lift that heavy burden. He can take away our sackcloth as we bring our petitions before Him. Real sorrows and real heartaches are not easily removed. But God can remove them. The song of praise He puts in our hearts doesn’t come from hype and is not manufactured by our efforts. It is a spiritual victory that He alone can give. And that victory will come in response to our cry unto Him.
Christians are not exempt from times of mourning.
We are not exempt from broken hearts brought about by others or by
our own sins and failures. We
are not exempt from nights of weeping and bitter tears.
We are not given any guarantees that trouble will pass us by.
Rather, we are told that “Many are the afflictions of the
righteous.” But the Word
continues by saying, “...but the LORD delivereth him out of them all”
(Psalm 34:19).
The house of God should be the place where our sorrows and broken hearts are exchanged for a song of victory. The altar of prayer in the local church should be a place where believers pray one for another until we pray through the darkness and restore a spirit of victory to our lives. No one should have to leave the house of God continuing to carry heavy burdens. The comfort of the Holy Spirit should be restored to us at the place of corporate prayer.
The teaching that there is victory at the altar of prayer is not a teaching that is merely a hypothetical possibility. It is not textbook theology that voices human opinions that may or may not be true. It is Biblical and it has been proven effective again and again. I have witnessed the victory gained at the church altar in many lives in many situations. I have also witnessed prayerless churches where the burdens are never lifted, and the burdened church members continue in their midnight sorrows without deliverance, not knowing the joy that comes in the morning.
Psalm 66:12 reads, “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.” There are wealthy places He brings us to in this life, where victory and shouts of praise prevail, and there shall be an eternal “wealthy place” for which our souls long. May God help us to keep this present victory that in turn we will be partakers of that eternal victory. May God turn our mourning into rejoicing now and forever more!
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