WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?

DO YOU LOSE SIGHT OF GOD?

Psalm 30

1 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.

I often wonder why we are not more grateful. It certainly cannot be that we have no reason for gratitude. It seems that during life’s pleasant situations, we are complacently distracted from appreciation of God’s caring providence, and during difficult ones, we become absorbed by desire for a reprieve. We might even focus more on fear about the next calamity, than gratitude for God’s loving care through the present trial. In other words, our conscious thankfulness to Him is often sadly lacking!

But here, David gives his attention to writing a song of praise to God, recognizing that even in his most difficult of times, when he feared for his life, his God had been faithful.

David goes on to encourage all the saints to rejoice in God’s provision.

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.

He reminds us that the hard times, caused by our sin or by the trials of life, are only momentary. We need not fear that they will never end. Sorrow and tears are, and will be, part of our human lives, but we must never lose sight of the fact that God’s favor is for a lifetime, and our joy in Him will return.

As we meditate on the corrective purposes of God, we can be assured that joy will be restored in His time. David remembers that, in his arrogance, he acted as if difficulties would never come.

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.

When David was enjoying peaceful times, he needed to be reminded that those were times of favor from God. He had done nothing to deserve them; they were gifts of God’s grace. And when hard times came, he was dismayed.

Doesn’t that look like a familiar reaction, when thoughts like “Why is this happening to me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” go through our minds? But this psalm shows us David’s humble return to God, for he immediately approaches Him, pleading for mercy.

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!”

David knows so well that the Lord is his helper, and that the Lord will receive ultimate glory from all His children.

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!

David’s trials were real, and his mourning profound, but it did not last forever. How quickly we forget or overlook the purposes of God: to bring glory to Himself through every situation.

So, knowing that God is in sovereign control of our lives should always produce deep gratitude. How wonderful it is, for us to know that the Creator of the universe is “our” God.

Take the time today, to acknowledge God’s tender mercies in your life! Allow neither good nor difficult circumstances to make you lose sight of God.