Joy in the Mourning

Tiffany Wilkins

Central Truth

Seeking the Lord alone for refuge brings joy.

But may all who take shelter in you be happy! May they continually shout for joy! Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice! (Psalm 5:11)

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD;
    consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my King and my God,
    for to you do I pray.
3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you^{1

5:3
Or I direct my prayer to you} and watch.

4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
    you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
    the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
    in the fear of you.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    make your way straight before me.

9 For there is no truth in their mouth;
    their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
    they flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Footnotes

[1] 5:3 Or I direct my prayer to you

Sometimes I try to figure out what God is doing in my life and place expectations on Him. This never works for me, and yet I keep doing it.

Last year, Garth and I found out we were pregnant. We were excited, but cautious in sharing the news. Past pregnancies had ended in miscarriage, so we thought we would wait before sharing it with “everybody.” I had been able to surrender to God’s plan in this area quickly in the past. But this time as God’s plan unfolded and I miscarried again, I had a very difficult time accepting it. I had been busy taking notice of everyone else who was pregnant or had young kids and what their lives and families looked like. And without realizing it, I was hoping the Lord would bless me in the same way He had blessed those families. Feelings of discontent rose in me about where He had me and our family. So instead of focusing on the Lord, I was focusing on the things around me. The loss of the child was difficult, but so were the unfulfilled expectations.

After the grieving took place, I had a choice to make. I could sit around having a pity party and be angry at God for not doing what I thought He was going to do, or I could take refuge in the Lord and allow Him to heal my heart. I chose to trust Him like King David did in this passage because I knew that all things flow out of His goodness, and that He would use this hurt and disappointment for His purposes. As I made a conscious effort to focus on the Lord through time in His Word and prayer, I began to feel His joy again and feel a peace about what He had for me in this area. Most likely, I won’t understand all of what God has been doing in these situations until I arrive in heaven, and that’s OK. My part now is to continue to turn to Him with a heart of surrender.

1. In what area of your life are you not fully accepting God's plan for you?

2. When you are lacking joy, how do you attempt to get it back?

3. How do you see God changing you through a current trial?