462_The Lord who changes our fortunes

Psalm 30 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 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.

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

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “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?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

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

One of the most moving stories to come out of the Rwandan genocide is that of a woman named Immaculée. She was a young university student when the horrific civil war erupted in 1994. For 91 days – three months – she hid in a tiny bathroom with seven other women, while death and chaos raged around them. Most of her family died.

After the genocide, she emerged not with a heart full of bitterness, but with a spirit of forgiveness and gratitude. In her book Left to Tell, she describes the sustaining and transforming presence of God in that cramped bathroom. When she was afraid, she trusted him. And He changed her weeping into worship. She walked out of the darkness of that place into the light of a changed life. Her story is one of many that echoes the powerful truth found in Psalm 30 — that we serve a God who changes our fortunes.

Psalm 30 opens with David’s passionate praise: “I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.” The title of the psalm suggests that it was written for the dedication of the temple or David’s house. But the content speaks of pain, fear, even death, and miraculous recovery. David is not celebrating a new building, but a new lease on life. He exalts God who answers prayer, who delivered him from the brink of death and vindicated him before his enemies.

David’s affliction remains a secret. It may have been a severe illness, a battle wound, or an emotional breakdown. It brought him to the edge of the grave. It threatened him with dishonorable death. Yet, from that desperate place, he cried out to God — and God heard. God healed and restored him. And that is his song.

David describes his foes waiting to celebrate his fall. He doesn’t hide his feelings as he speaks of nights of weeping, of moments of seeming abandonment. And yet, woven through this psalm is the golden thread of exultation and victory. “Weeping may tarry for the night,” he says, “but joy comes with the morning.”

Just as darkness cannot stop the sunrise from flooding the earth with light, sorrow cannot keep out joy from the life of the one who trusts God. Verse 5 declares of God: “His anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.” This echoes the very words God spoke to Moses in Exodus 34:6 — “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” And therefore David knew that his God was neither unpredictable nor cruel, but great in mercy, rich in kindness, and slow to anger. His anger may be real, but it is momentary. On the other hand, His favor is enduring. Therefore, for those who trust him and obey him, joy comes in the morning despite their faults.

David thinks back on the dangerous incident that almost killed him. It began with pride. He says in verse 6, “As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’” At one time, his success made him feel untouchable. When things were going well, he felt secure in his strength, assured against change. But then — God hid His face. The river of blessings dried up. And David, once confident and courageous, was suddenly terrified and disoriented.

How often this is true of us! We’re quick to forget our vulnerability, our total dependence on God, when life is smooth. But God, in His love, sometimes knocks away the pillars – a reminder that we are truly secure only because of him. David’s prosperity had made him complacent. But in his time of crisis, he turned again to the Lord.

David’s prayer in verse 9 is both bold and heartfelt: “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?” He is very sure that God delights in the praises of his people. Hence his logical appeal to be saved from death: “Lord, if I die, how can I praise You? Let me live — and I will proclaim Your goodness.” David’s greatest desire was to live and praise God. He wanted not just to survive, but to testify to the goodness of God.

And God, in His mercy, answered. David’s mourning was turned into dancing. His sackcloth of grief— was replaced with garments of gladness. And so he ends the psalm with a vow of eternal gratitude: “O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

Ours is the God of reversal, the God who changes our fortunes. He restores us from sickness to health. From despair to hope. From silence to song. From death to life.

For Psalm 30 is more than just David’s testimony. It prophesies the great reversal that God brings about for his people through Jesus Christ. In Romans 5, Paul describes it thus: while we were still weak, Christ died for the ungodly. While we were enemies of God, under His wrath, Christ reconciled us. God forgave us for Christ’s sake, and quickens us to new life. We wept because of our sinfulness, which fated us for unending death. But He changed our weeping into the joy of forgiveness and of everlasting life. We were clothed in the filthy rags of our own righteousness — but He has stripped off, not just the old clothes but the old self, and given us in himself a new heart and a new spirit. We have died with him to sin so that we could live with him in eternal fellowship with God, beginning here and now.

Through Christ, God has truly changed our fortunes. He is our new clothing, our garment of salvation. We were bound in the Sheol of the spirit, but now we are freed, revived and seated with Christ in heavenly places. This is not poetic exaggeration. It is the reality of grace.

Let us give thanks to God constantly for our great deliverance, just as David does. Let us always remember how far God has brought us, how deeply He has loved us, and how completely He has forgiven us. Our hearts cannot remain silent. Our lives will become instruments of thanksgiving. We will celebrate forgiveness and new life with the way we live, the way we serve, and the way we love others.

If we weep during the correction of love or in unexplained sorrow, let us have patience – joy is on its way. If we have become self-reliant, let us humbly cling to him instead. In sickness, discouragement, or any depth of sorrow, let us cry out to the Lord who lifts us up. And when we experience His deliverance, let us not keep silent. Let our praise point others to the One who changes our fortunes.

Whether it’s a genocide survivor walking into freedom, a king recovering from sickness, or a sinner saved by grace — the truth remains the same: Our God is the God who changes destinies. Let our lives be songs of unending thanks to our Savior and God. God bless.