Mourning

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! Psalm 30: 11-12 NLT

I know of at least three individuals who are in mourning for their spouse. And not a single one of them are joyfully dancing, even though for at least one it has been several years since their loved one's death.

I have not yet lost someone as close as a spouse or a parent. But I am trying to understand how mourning can become joyful dancing. The mourning that I see is dark, suffocating and depressing. There is no joy in that.

Yet the psalmist seems to give the impression that if mourning is turned into joyful dancing by God, then God will be praised and thanked. The idea seems to be that if we are mourning, we aren't going to be able to be praising God. God wants our thanks and praise not our weeping. When we weep, we turn away from God and stop giving God the glory.

The key phrase is that God is the one who turns mourning into dancing with joy. The question is: when will we be ready to allow God to make that change?

God, we lift up to you all those we name who are mourning. God, turn their mourning into dancing so that they will be joyfully giving you thanks and praise. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2011 Amelia G. Sims