Sing praises in the good times and bad

“You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent...” Psalm 30:11-12 BSB

After taking five days off from running due to an infection in my shin last week, I was incredibly thankful to be released to run in time for Dogwood Canyon, my very favorite trail race in the world presented by the Bass Pro Fitness Series. And although I was still experiencing a bit of pain and discomfort that caused me to drop from the 50k distance to the 25k, I was joyful beyond words. So joyful in fact that I couldn’t help but sing out loud to the worship songs flowing through my earbuds as I made my way up and down the Ozark mountains, at one point softly crooning “I love You, Lord, for Your mercy never fails me, all my days, I've been held in Your hands. From the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head, oh I will sing of the goodness of God ” “I hear someone worshiping,” said a young lady that had apparently been running behind me for a while but was now by my side. Smiling at her I said, “Oh girl. God has been so good to me that I just can’t keep it inside! I’m compelled to sing His praises.” “You just keep singing sister,” she said smiling back. “I’m enjoying listening to you and He is indeed worthy of praise.”

And you know, each and every one of us will have experiences in life that will cause us to be sad, downcast or even mournful. Experiences that may seem bad at the time (and indeed they are) but are the very thing that will later allow us to feel joy to such a degree that gladness fills our hearts to the brim so completely that it causes an involuntary outpouring of praise in the form of song or dance. David clearly understood this when he said, “You turned my mourning into dancing... and clothed me with joy." David was so joyful that he could not be silent! And neither could I. His joy was overflowing because the Lord, once again, turned his sadness into gladness... gladness that was made all the greater because of the depth of the sadness God took him out of. Do you just love that or what?

So if you're in a period of mourning, hold tight my friend. This period won't last forever, of that you can be sure. Continue to trust God and know that one day your sadness will be turned to gladness... something that will have you dancing in the streets and singing His praises with abandon. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God who can be trusted. Just like David, we will all experience tests, trials, and heartaches. Help us to praise You in the midst of these tough times as loudly as we do when our sackcloth is removed Lord so that others would see our praise and be drawn to seek the One who inspires it both in the good times and in the bad. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!