“You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,”(Psalm 30:11)
King David’s life was far from the life of ease we picture a king having. He dealt with enemies who were attacking him, poor health and discouragement and hopeless. In this psalm, he recounts a time when he felt especially depressed because just after he had bragged about doing so well, it seemed God abandoned him (Psalm 30:7) But King David didn’t stop looking for God. He cried out to Him, and eventually, He turned his life around.
King David wasn’t afraid to be honest with God. Over and over again, he poured out his heart, sometimes in praise, but often in complaints that God seemed to be mistreating him or abandoning him. In almost every painfully honest psalm of King David, we read in the end about God’s resolution and relief.
The lesson for us is clear; God wants us to be honest with Him. He doesn’t want us to be “plastic”. King Davids example is that only through gut-level honesty, exposing our hurts and hopes to God. King David doesn’t tell us when or how the answer came. He just tell us they did come, and thats all we need to know. God delights in turning our mourning into dancing, but first we have to trust Him enough to be completely honest with Him.