Psalm Saturday!

Hi everyone and welcome! I have had this idea running through my head for weeks. Each Saturday I want to think about a Psalm or verses from one of them. These will be Psalms which have helped me, some I haven't read, and others I just really enjoy reading.

I feel like God has placed this on my heart to reflect upon because it has been running through my head so much!

So today I thought I would think about Psalm 30 and what it means to me.

Psalm 30

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. ^a]">[a]

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 ^b]">[b] ;
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 ^c]">[c] 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, ^d]">[d]
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.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 30:1 Title: Or palace
2. Psalm 30:3 Hebrew Sheol
3. Psalm 30:7 Or hill country
4. Psalm 30:9 Or there if I am silenced

When I think about the Psalms this one probably means a great deal to me. 3 months after the birth of my first child, Jacob who is now nearly 5, I became ill with Post Natal (partum) Depression. I won't go into all the detail here, that's for another time, but suffice to say it was pretty horrible. I felt alone, angry at God for "doing this to me", distant from God, I could barely pray and I wasn't happy being at Church.

Then one morning at Church an excellent young man was speaking about a bad time in his life and how Psalm 30 spoke to him during this time. So I got home and read it properly from my Bible. It spoke volumes to me. It was exactly how I was feeling when at my worst and as I began to feel better it also spoke to me.

Verse 6 particularly spoke to me because I was shocked that this had happened to me! That may sound conceited but I just didn't think I would become ill like that and thought I had it all together! I also was working in the mental health sector at this time and dealt with many of the agencies who were now helping me! Talk about humbling! I really believe God gave me this horrible experience to truly humble me and make me lean on him so much more.

I was thinking what verses to focus on when writing this but the whole thing speaks to me. I would urge you to read the whole Psalm. Each verse related to how I felt at the time and I as began to feel better again.

So there you go! Whenever I am feeling a bit glum I like to read this Psalm and remind myself of a time I felt a great deal worse. I am so thankful to God for bringing this Psalm to my attention at a time I really needed to hear his voice and know that he was close and loved me.

May this be my prayer from verse 12;

¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.