It's all in our perspective

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 30:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "For His anger is but for a moment

His favour is for life;

Weeping may endure for a night,

But joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Has God ever seemed mad at you? You pray and pray but nothing changes. Your spouse falls ill and there's no miraculous cure. Dear ones die and you are left hurting and lonely.

David, in this psalm, doesn't gloss over the difficulties of life, but he does put them in perspective. Let's take a close look at Psalm 30:5 to see what we can learn from him.

"For His anger is but for a moment."
Does God actually get angry in the petulant, vindictive way this psalm seems to suggest? The old Bible commenter, Gill, says:

"Anger is not properly in God, ... but only in their (our) apprehension, he doing those things which in some respects are similar to those which men do when they are angry; he turns away from them and hides his face, he chides, chastises, and afflicts, and then they conclude he is angry; and when he returns again and takes off his hand, manifests his pardoning love, and comforts them, then they understand it that his anger is turned away from them..." Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

"His favour is for life..."
When David takes the long view, he realizes that over his lifetime the predominant shade has been blessing and favour.

"It is his (God's) nature to impart life. He spares life; He will give eternal life. ... If a man has the favour of God, he is sure of life; if not life in this world, yet life in the world to come" Barnes Notes on the Bible.

"Weeping may endure for a night..."

[Endure (luwn) is an interesting word. It literally means "lodge as a guest" or "pass the night."]

"The idea is that weeping is like a stranger—a wayfaring person—who lodges for a night only. In other words, sorrow will soon pass away to be succeeded by joy" - Barnes Notes on the Bible.

"But joy comes in the morning."
[Joy (rinnah) means a shout of rejoicing, shouting, loud cheering in triumph, singing.]

What a contrast to the night of tears just experienced.

"...if we have the friendship of God, sorrow will always be temporary, and will always be followed by joy. The morning will come; a morning without clouds; a morning when the sources of sorrow will disappear. This often occurs in the present life; it will always occur to the righteous in the life to come" - Barnes Notes on the Bible.

I can't help but compare David's words in this psalm with the words of Jacob. When Pharaoh asked him, near the end of his life, how old he was, he replied: "...few and evil have been the days of the years of my life..." - Genesis 47:9.

How negative! We can choose not to be negative like that. Rather than dwell on the bad things (which come to us all), let's view life from the perspective of God's favour and focus on His blessings, like David did.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your favour and the positive joyful bent of life lived with You. Help me to have a positive outlook that focuses on Your blessings rather than my problems. Amen.

MORE: Practice being positive

"Practice being positive in each situation that arises. Even if whatever is taking place in your life at the moment is not so good, expect God to bring good out of it, as He has promised in His Word....


...Being positive in a positive situation is easy. Anyone can do that. But when we are positive in a negative situation it shows a genuine trust in God and a spiritual maturity that pleases and glorifies God" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, pp. 38, 44.