You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Psalm 30:11-12
Early one morning several days ago I was working on a blog to post on Facebook. I soon realized what I thought was going to be a simple blog had grown exponentially! Time had quickly slipped away!
In the distance, I could hear the goats, horses and chickens complaining about my tardiness to care for them. I laid aside my writing and made my way down to the barn and chicken coop. I released the animals from their captivity and headed toward a restaurant in Yamhill for breakfast. As I walked from the car to the restaurant, I glanced at the clock on my phone and said, “Good grief it is almost ten o’clock.” I just made the deadline! Finding my favorite booth in the back corner of the dining area, I seated myself. I was promptly greeted by the server and placed my order, as she walked away I could hear the imaginary voice of Lucy saying, “Good grief Charlie Brown!”
Funny how some thoughts surface in our memories! I smiled at the imaginary sound of her voice and then suddenly a deep frown flashed across my mind, I found myself thinking, “There is nothing good about grief! It breaks your heart, it robs you of peace and joy, it dashes your hopes and dreams and plunges you into a dark hell hole of depression and loneliness!”
But is there something good in grief? It was grief that brought me to my knees before God. It was grief that caused me to cry out to Jesus to heal my broken heart, it was grief that forced me to totally depend on God, it was grief that revealed the loving heart of my Heavenly Father, it was grief that sent me running into the arms of Jesus for the peace that I needed for my troubled spirit, it was grief that forged in me an unshakable faith that God does all things well, it was grief that drew me into the awesome presence of a Holy God and it was in grief I learned to love the Lord my God more deeply. It was in grief my mourning was turned into dancing!
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.Psalm 30:11-12
P.S. The above is from our dear brother Glenn Merriman— I had read this off his meditation and asked if I could share this with our church family.
Maranatha!