Dear Church of the Open Bible,
This past Monday we remembered the life of Earl Sandin. As we mourned with Joan and the family, I reflected on Earl’s love of singing. He was a beautiful singer but more so, he had a thankful and gracious spirit. In Psalm 30, David encourages believers to sing, but look for the reason why. What is it that should elicit our praise?
Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning. Psalms 30:4–5
David reminds us of the reality of brokenness; the reality of God’s righteous anger against sin, and the tears that are a result of that brokenness within us and around us. Much of our lives is spent coming to terms with this reality. Earl was both aware of his inner need to be forgiven of his sin, and the suffering that results from living in this broken world. These last years, he lived with pain, countless trips to the hospital, appointments, medication, surgery, stiffness. You could see it on his face Sunday morning. You could hear it in his voice.
But it is precisely in the midst of this deep suffering that we find the reason for our praise. David calls the saints to sing praise to the Lord, why? Because for us, suffering is not our final state. Lament is not the Lord’s final word. His anger is but for a moment, and His favor or grace is for a lifetime. Weeping has permission to stay for the night, but when the morning comes it has to leave, and it is replaced by joy. This is what we celebrated about God as we remembered Earl and it is my prayer that we would live in light of this incredible reality.