Down In The Dumps (aka the Pit)

1 I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit.
4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said,
"I will never be shaken."
7 O LORD, when you favored me,
you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 "What gain is there in my destruction,
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
O LORD, be my help."
11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

--Psalm 30


"What gain is there in my destruction?" Have you ever actually been to the point where you are wondering if God is allowing or even planning to have you destroyed?--that point where your misery is all that God seems to have in store for you? The depths of pain and defeat to which God will allow us to reach is sometimes staggering. Though the extent to which we see this to be so common in the lives of His people as revealed throughout scripture and especially in the psalms should cause us not to be surprised. It might be a test of our faith. It might not have any reason we can perceive or understand. But it should always turn us heavenward. Like a beetle stuck on his back squirming helplessly and looking toward the sky, we also must turn in defeat and despair to the only one who can turn us right side up. Cry out as we may--even accusing God of foul play--let us return to praise as we confidently look beyond the here and now and see clearly a future written by the hands of a good and sovereign God. Our weeping will turn to rejoicing, our wailing to dancing, and our hearts will turn from silence to singing.