Honest Confession

Ps 30:1 I will exalt you, LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Do you know someone who has a hard time taking an accurate assessment of themselves? Everyone else seems to be able to see their shortcomings, but they are oblivious to them. They have lived so long with their ‘limp’ that they think it is normal, that everyone has the same ‘limp.’

One of the wonderful things about a healthy community is that there can be honest conversations without condemnation. Since we all have our own blind spots, a healthy community gives place and space for honest conversations, even uncomfortable ones. We all want the community to grow, so vital operations must take place to remove the infections. And we all have our own infections.

The Scriptures also provide a mirror for our spiritual growth. As we read and reflect on them, they penetrate our deepest being and point out places where we need the LORD’s disinfectant. Through the honest and transparent pictures of the heroes of our faith, we see them in all their glory and in all their failure.

This complex picture of humanity can help us. Take our text today. This Psalm was written in a time of triumph. But that triumph didn’t happen in isolation for reality. And that is so often where we want life to stay. We want triumph all the time.

But life isn’t like that. Triumph comes so often after defeat. We rise only because we have previously fallen. We experience joy because we have been in sorrow.

Our writer felt like he was going to die, thus the reference to the depths. His enemies were coming against him, and he saw no way out. He thought he was a goner. Have you had moments when you thought you were going to die? The older we get, it seems that these moments happen more frequently.

But when he was delivered from his enemy’s attack, he rejoiced. He didn’t rejoice in the deliverance. The thing he was thankful for was not that he wasn’t under attack any more. He wasn’t wiping his forehead and exclaiming, “Whew!”

Instead, the writer recognized the presence and action of the LORD in his deliverance. If it weren’t for the LORD, he would have lost his life. His eyes were upward and his heart was bowed in humility. The LORD was his focus.