Please welcome guest blogger and author, Lauren Crews, as she reveals beautiful truths from Psalm 30:4-5. Thank you, Lauren, for sharing with us today!

 

Psalm 30:4-5

4 Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And praise the mention of His holiness.

5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning. (NASB)

When I’m struggling through a difficult time, I often turn to scripture to help manage my emotions. Psalm 30:4-5 is an often go-to verse as a reminder that the difficulties are for a moment and also confirmation that things will improve because joy will come in the morning. This is comforting, and if this is all the verse offers, it is enough.

But I learned a long time ago that God often packs much more into His word. Evaluating this verse in the original Hebrew brings a new level of insight. It reveals how much He loves us. So, what more are these verses saying? I would love to share my process.

Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And praise the mention of His holiness.

I always approach God’s word by asking Who is the audience? In this case, you and I are, and we are described as His godly ones. This tells me that we are His, and He considers us as godly and kind. The verse also reveals that God expects our praise, or in Hebrew yudah. This word means to extend a hand, and it is more often translated as confess. We have something important to share. Maybe that explains why the verse mentions He is angry. But is He angry?

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime;

Angry is the Hebrew word aph, which means nose and a heavy breath released from the nose. Although the word is often translated as wrath and anger, the term is also translated as longsuffering. Angry might be a little strong in this context. It suggests that I am face to face with God. Like when I want to have a serious conversation with my children, I might lean in and press my forehead against theirs. When I do that, we can feel our breath on each other’s faces. My deep exhale indicates my frustration with my child, but my proximity reaffirms my love and availability. It is an intimate time lasting just a moment, a wink of time.

The word lifetime indicates that our lives are acceptable to Him, not so much for how long. We can stand stood face to face with our heavenly father, and He breathes over us. #joyinthemorning #restoringhope Click To Tweet

In contrast, His favor, goodwill, or acceptance of us lasts a lifetime. The word lifetime indicates that our lives are acceptable to Him, not so much for how long. We can stand stood face to face with our heavenly father, and He breathes over us.

Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Our weeping will last for a night, or in Hebrew, until dusk. Which reveals that it won’t stay all night and we will rest well. Then joy comes in the morning. There are a few Hebrew words for joy. This verse uses rinnah, which is a cracking sound, a shout of triumph, you’ve won. The root of the word is a term for the twang of a bowstring. It is the sound made when an arrow has been released, and the archer can now relax.

for the believer, true joy knows that we can stand face to face with God, and no matter what we confess to Him, when we reach out our hands to Him, He accepts us.j#joyinthemorning #restoringhope Click To Tweet

God’s word has so many levels. On the surface, this verse is without a doubt an encouragement. But looking closer reveals the depth of God’s love for us. For the believer, true joy knows that we can stand face to face with God, and no matter what we confess to Him, when we reach out our hands to Him, He accepts us. We can relax. We have released all our fear, worry, circumstances to Him, and we will rest.

How has this insightful look at Psalm 30:4-5 encouraged you? How can God’s rest bring you joy in your struggle?

Meet Lauren

Lauren Crews is an award-winning author of Strength of a Woman: Why You Are Proverbs 31 which looks at the Proverbs 31 passage as a Hebrew acrostic poem. Lauren holds an Mdiv from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. As a teacher, she loves to share the depths of God’s word with understandable application.

You can connect with Lauren on her website at:  www.LaurenCrews.com  or find her on Twitter  @LaurenCrewsA2Z.

Don’t miss her wonderful book, Strength of a Woman. It’s a wonderful study to share with a couple of girlfriends.

I often link-up with the following wonderful bloggers.

Mondays   Mandy and Michele/ Inspire Me Monday/Anita Ojeda

Tuesdays InstaEncouragements/Anchored Abode

Wednesdays  Recharge Wednesday / Tell His Story/Sitting Among Friends Linkup/Let’s Have Coffee

Thursdays Heart Encouragement  /  Tune In Thursday  /Salt and Light

Friday Blogger Voices Network /Grace and Truth Linkup/ Five Minute Friday/ FreshMarketFriday