From Pain to the Palace

“I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up…”

Note the play on words – “extol” means “to lift up.” God lifted David out of exile and made him king. Now David will lift up the Lord in praise.

“And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

David was on the run from Saul for 71⁄2 years.

Saul chased and hunted David like wounded deer

David had been the object of lies and falsehoods.

He pleaded for God to vindicate him and deliver him, yet there were times when it seemed that God had turned a deaf ear to his cries.

Imagine 71⁄2 years of sleepless nights, countless bouts of despair, and who knows how many tears. Yet a new day has dawned for David…

His years in exile are over! He’s gone from the pit to the pinnacle – from pain to the palace – from cave to coronation. David is now king of Israel.

And looking back, David realizes his long nights were filled with many lessons. It’s been said, “Joys are our wings. Sorrows are our spurs.”

God uses pain and sorrow in our life, but thankfully only for a season.

For the child of God “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” His anger is for a moment, but His favor is for lifetime!

God will spank a child. He’s not afraid to use the belt on one of His kids, but the paddling is tempered with mercy – and always teaches a lesson.

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “God soon turns from His wrath, but He never turns from His love.” God’s discipline is always a sign of His love.

 But the experience of an unbeliever is just the opposite… His joy is for a moment, while his weeping is forever. There’s a difference between an unbeliever in need of a Savior and a believer in need of a spanking.

An unbeliever has done nothing to appease God’s anger over his sin. He’s left to feel God’s anger over sin for the remainder of eternity.