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