1. "When I'm on the schedule to preach, I typically begin my preparation by asking God, What is it that the people need to hear? Sometimes I read a scripture and I know immediately that this is the text for this particular day. Other times I can be in conversation with someone and they will say something that sparks a thought connected to a biblical story and a sermon is born. Or I could be listening to a song. I could be reading a book or watching television and I feel God leading me to share on a certain subject. Then there are the instances when a certain theme keeps coming up for weeks or even months. And I think that's what I'm supposed to speak about. But every time I'm preparing, I get nowhere with that subject. It can be frustrating because I feel like I got signs, but I don't connect with the text. I don't understand why, but I put it aside until I get confirmation." [19:30] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "Now, the recurring theme that keeps coming up for me in 2024 is joy. All year I've been feeling in my spirit that God wants us to experience joy. Not simply happiness, but joy. Biblical joy, which is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction. Because we know that God will use these experiences. The good, the bad, and the ugly ones to accomplish God's work in and through our lives." [20:33] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "To be sure, you will have ups and downs on life's journey. There will be mountaintop experiences as well as valleys of dark despair. Life is full of rhythm. Seasons of joy and sorrow. Moments of triumph and despair. We all will experience the soaring highs of celebration. And at the same time, we won't be spared the crushing lows of grief. But still, as people of faith, we must never forget that there will be pain, but the God of the turnaround will ensure that joy will always make a comeback." [24:53] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "David's story is a testimony of God's power to turn things around, but he's not the only one because the truth is we all have or will encounter such pits in our lives, times of illness, loss, disappointment, or fear. These experiences can leave us feeling lost and alone, questioning everything we thought we knew. David's words remind us that it's okay to acknowledge our pain, to cry out to God in our anguish because God hears our cries even from the depths of despair, and the God of the turnaround will reach down to the deepest of depths to lift us up." [29:09] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "How do we keep the faith in the God of the turnaround while we wait for God to turn it around? First, we must remember that God lifts us from our deep pits. Second, we must recall how the God of the turnaround shifts our situations and circumstances. God lifts, God shifts. The next section of the Psalm starts with a call to worship. Sing praises to the Lord, all who remain faithful. Pour out your hearts. Praise God's holy name. When God lifted David, he praised individually. When God shifted David's situation, he invited others to join him in worship." [32:09] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




6. "God's anger lasts only a moment, but God's favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. In these verses, the Psalmist contrasts the temporary nature of God's anger with the enduring nature of God's favor. The Psalmist acknowledges that God's anger, though it may be just, though it may be necessary, it's not permanent and will only last for a moment in comparison to God's eternal favor, God's eternal mercy and grace. This highlights God's character as being ultimately loving and merciful, even in times of correction." [33:21] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




7. "God's anger lasts for a moment, but God's favor lasts a lifetime. And to be clear, there were consequences for David's actions and it led to some sleepless, sorrowful nights, but his favor with the Lord was returned and so did his joy. Because unlike us, God doesn't hold grudges forever. While God's anger and discipline can seem long-lasting, David acknowledged that they pale in comparison with the enduring favor and joy of the Lord. The image of weeping, staying for the night, reminds us that there will be periods of sorrow in life, but they're just temporary. Joy coming in the morning reminds us that the dawn of a new day is filled with restoration and God's brand new mercies." [38:45] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




8. "David ends this song of praise celebrating a dramatic turnaround. Mourning, a state of deep sorrow is turned into dancing, an act of celebration and joy. The verb turns emphasizes that this change is an act of divine intervention, highlighting God's power to change our distress into deliverance. God stripped off the sackcloth David had been wearing, which was worn. During mourning and times of repentance in ancient Israel, sackcloth was a coarse material, often made from goat's hair, symbolizing humility and penitence. So when God stripped him of the sackcloth, that signified the end of a period of grief and repentance. God lifts, God shifts, God strips. But when God strips off our mourning attire, God doesn't leave us exposed. In exchange, God clothes us with joy." [42:53] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




9. "The turn around has shifted some things in your life, shifted from sin to salvation, from death to deliverance, from pain to peace, from hurt to healing. God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, a mistake into a masterpiece, a victim into a victor, war to peace, mourning into dancing, sickness into health, weeping into joy. David ends Psalm 30 by expressing his commitment to praising God. Forever recognizing that God has done so many great things for him. Once David was clothed with joy, he declared that he couldn't be silent. He had to praise the Lord. And the same should be true for us." [44:11] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




10. "God's turnaround didn't erase all memories of painful experience. God's turnaround will not diminish our losses. Instead, when God turns it, God offers a new perspective, a renewed sense of hope and purpose. It offers a reminder that even in the midst of suffering, God's love can bring forth joy. So Psalm 30 is not a call to deny the reality of our suffering or to pretend that life is always easy, but it does offer a roadmap for navigating the complexities of human experience with honesty, faith, and hope. It reminds us that we serve a God who is intimately acquainted with our grief, our pain, and our suffering. And we serve a God who is a God who walks with us through every valley and who ultimately brings beauty from ashes." [51:02] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Good morning, 6th Mount Zion.

Please stand for the call to worship and invocation.

Come, let us worship the God of overflowing joy. Shout joyfully to God, all the earth. Sing of God's glorious name. Give God a glorious praise. Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!" Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord and bless God's name. Proclaim God's salvation day after day. Tell of God's glory among the nations. Tell all the people of God's marvelous deeds.

Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us sing praise to God. While we live, let us rejoice in the Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It is a good day to give God praise.

Let us pray.

God, on this day, our hearts burst with gladness for you have done so many wonderful things. You are a great God. Like a wellspring within, your joy overflows. You chase away doubts and fear. So as we gather today, songs of praise be on our lips. Let memories of your goodness lead us to clap our hands. Let the rhythm of gratitude lead us to move our feet. For you are our God, and in your presence, there is fullness of joy. God, you are worthy of our worship. And so we pray that you receive our praise offering today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

While you're still standing, take a moment to welcome those who are standing around you to worship. Those in the building, look around and wave at somebody. Those online, please take a moment to say good morning in the chat.

Those of you who want to financially support this ministry, we say thank you in advance. We don't have a traditional offertory period, so if you are giving online or through our website, we have Zelle, Venmo, or Text2Give. You can do that at any time. If you're in the building, you can give using cash or checks that will be collected as you leave.

The Men of Zion Choir will now come to minister to us in song, and we pray that they don't just sing to you, but that you participate as well. Amen?

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Down here working on my soul salvation.

Last week, our guest minister preached from Psalm 34. Today, we're in the same book of the Bible, but a few chapters earlier. And we're going to read together verses from Psalm 30 in the New International Version.

I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. Lord, my God, I call to you for help, and you healed me. Today, you, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead. You spared me from going down to the pit.

Sing the praises of the Lord, you, his faithful people. Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken." Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm. But when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, Lord, I called. To the Lord, I cried for mercy.

What is gained if I am silenced? If I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me. Lord, be my help. You turn my wailing into dancing. You remove my sackcloth and clothe me with joy.

That my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.

I want to use these verses to preach from the sermon subject, "The God of the Turnaround."

The God of the Turnaround.

Let us pray.

God, as I proclaim your word, I pray that you would speak to me. Speak in and through me so that everyone who is listening now and those who will listen later would praise you for being the God of the Turnaround. I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart would be acceptable in your sight. Oh, Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

You may be seated.

When I'm on the schedule to preach, I typically begin my preparation by asking God, "What is it that the people need to hear?" Sometimes I read a scripture and I know immediately that this is the text for this particular day. Other times I can be in conversation with someone, and they will say something that sparks a thought connected to a biblical story, and a sermon is born. Or I could be listening to a song. I could be reading a book or watching television, and I feel God leading me to share on a certain subject.

Then there are the instances when a certain theme keeps coming up for weeks or even months. And I think that's what I'm supposed to speak about. But every time I'm preparing, I get nowhere with that subject. It can be frustrating because I feel like I got signs, but I don't connect with the text. I don't understand why, but I put it aside until I get confirmation.

Well, today is a sermon from one of those times when I've been meditating and contemplating a message about a theme. But until this day, it wouldn't come together. So I trust God's timing. And I believe that the message for this morning was held off for this moment so that you and I could be together. And we can be reminded together that in spite of our circumstances or situations, we can remain hopeful because we serve the God of the turnaround.

Now, the recurring theme that keeps coming up for me in 2024 is joy. All year I've been feeling in my spirit that God wants us to experience joy. Not simply happiness, but joy. Biblical joy, which is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction. Because we know that God will use these experiences—the good, the bad, and the ugly ones—to accomplish God's work in and through our lives.

During Lent, we spent several days thinking about joy as one of the fruits of the spirit. In July, I went to a conference in Tennessee, and the theme was "Unleashing the Joy." Last week at my other job, my boss talked about the importance of cultivating joy. But the example that most resonated with me was the character Joy from *Inside Out*.

For those who may be unfamiliar, in 2015, Disney and Pixar released a movie entitled *Inside Out*. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I'm going to give you a brief summary. It may be a spoiler alert, but it came out nine years ago, so if you haven't seen it by now...

*Inside Out* lets viewers into the mind of Riley, an 11-year-old young girl who has five personified emotions named joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. They manage her thoughts, which in turn influences her actions. The emotions work in a place known as headquarters, which is controlled by a console.

Things were going pretty good for Riley until her family moved from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's new job. The move is hard on the young girl. She misses her friends and wants to return to her old life. At one point, sadness starts to turn Riley's happy memories into sorrowful ones. Joy, who is the unofficial leader, tries to limit sadness' influence because she wants Riley to be happy.

But in the end, joy and sadness realize that they have to work together to help Riley create new memories, some of which will be joyful and some will be painful. The movie ends with the emotions being given a newly expanded console that has enough room for all of them to work together as a team.

Nine years later, in June 2024, the sequel was released. But in the movie, only two years have passed, and Riley is now 13, right on the cusp of puberty. During the making of the first film, the directors worked with psychologists and neuroscientists in an effort to accurately portray the mind of a young girl. For *Inside Out 2*, they not only consulted with the psychologists, but they enlisted a group of teenagers to ensure they captured modern teenage life and the emotional changes brought on by adolescence.

As a result, *Inside Out 2* introduces us to Riley's four new emotions: anxiety, envy, embarrassment, and ennui. Ennui represents sadness. It represents a feeling of boredom and disinterest that is common in teenagers. In this movie, which comes to Disney Plus on Wednesday, anxiety takes over the console, and at one point, joy breaks down when she realizes that she is no longer in control. Joy says, "I don't know how to stop anxiety. Maybe that's what happens when you grow up. You feel less joy."

As I sat in the movie theater, I could see that I was not the only adult wiping away tears at that point. I was silently sobbing at this animated movie for two minutes. There were three reasons. One, because I know the feeling. And two, because it brought back to mind a set of questions that I'd been asked over the summer. One of our facilitators at the conference I went to asked us, "What brought you joy at age five? What brought you joy when you were 15 years old? What brought you joy five days ago? What is bringing you joy right now?"

As the facilitator went around the room, my heart hurt at the number of attendees who said they easily remembered what brought them joy when they were five but struggled to think of something that brought them joy five days ago. As the other emotions tried to encourage joy on the big screen, I sat there wondering, was the character's statement correct? Is it true that when we grow up, we have less joy?

No. I said, the answer is no. At least it doesn't have to be. To be sure, you will have ups and downs on life's journey. There will be mountaintop experiences as well as valleys of dark despair. Life is full of rhythm—seasons of joy and sorrow, moments of triumph and despair. We all will experience the soaring highs of celebration. And at the same time, we won't be spared the crushing lows of grief.

But still, as people of faith, we must never forget that there will be pain, but the God of the turnaround will ensure that joy will always make a comeback. So I was led to our text this morning, Psalm 30, because it is a song of thanksgiving from one who has had to kneel. The song reminds us that even in the midst of suffering and uncertainty, there are always reasons for hope because we serve the God of the turnaround.

And I know somebody who's experiencing a difficult season may be saying, "Yes, that sounds nice and preachery, but how do I keep the faith in the God of turnaround while I wait for God to turn this thing around in my life?" I believe our text provides the answer, so we're just going to get into it. Psalm 30 is for you.

It is traditionally attributed to King David. And while the exact date of composition is unknown, biblical scholars believe it was written sometime during David's reign, which would have been between 1010 B.C. and 970 B.C. Now, in researching this text, I read that some scholars believe that David wrote this as a congregational psalm of praise, while others assert that it was a personal song of celebration that resonated with the children of Israel. I believe the latter.

Psalm 30 seems to be written as a song of praise and thanksgiving to God for delivering joy. And while our text was written in a psalm of praise, it was also used to explain the crowd of Israel that were praying to see God. Now, the psalm is the beginning and the beginning of a psalm of praise. This verse tells us that when God took our republican authority, we were given a commandment to read it in the form of a psalm of praise.

When we read it, we hear it as a message that says, "I save you from this labor, and I save you from this deceit, and I save you from this sin, and I will save you from this coming of the year." When we read the psalm of praise, it's like saying, "We are saved."

Anyway, in a psalm of praise, we hear this saying, "We are saved."

The first thing Psalm 30 teaches us to do is to remember that God lifts. God lifts. David begins the Psalm expressing gratitude to God for rescuing him from a life-threatening situation. He says, "I will extol you, Lord, for you have lifted me up and have not let my enemies rejoice over me." The King James Version says, "You lifted me up." The NIV says, "You lifted me out of the depths." The Voice Translation says, "You lifted me out of that deep, dark pit."

David acknowledges the depths of his despair, a place where he felt trapped and overwhelmed. Some translations mention Sheol, which was considered the realm of the dead. Any way you look at it, things were not looking good for David. Some consider David to be referencing being healed of a severe illness, while others think he was referring to being saved from an attack by Israel's enemies. Both could be true, because when we read about David's life and leadership in 1 and 2 Samuel, we know that he experienced some physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual challenges.

There were times when, after being anointed the next king of Israel, but before he got to the throne, his brothers discounted his life's purpose. Goliath looked at him with disgust when David approached him. King Saul, who was also the father of David's best friend, tried to kill him on several occasions. His own soldiers talked about stoning him. One of his wives told him that he was acting beneath his office as king. One of his sons rebelled against him and tried to take over the throne. And these are just a few of the things David might have been thinking about when he wrote Psalm 30.

David remembers being afflicted on the brink of death, crying out to God for mercy while his enemies stood by waiting to gloat over his demise. But the God of the turnaround reached down and met him where he was. God lifted David up at his lowest point. And not only did God help David to overcome his physical enemies, but the God of the turnaround lifted him out of his emotional despair and gave him a new sense of joy and hope.

This seemed improbable, but the psalmist reassures us that God can reverse dire situations even when they look desperate. The God of the turnaround can lift you out of whatever pits or depths of despair you may find yourself in. David knew what it was like to be down, but he also knew what it was like for God to lift him back up, and he never forgot it.

David's story is a testimony of God's power to turn things around, but he's not the only one because the truth is we all have or will encounter such pits in our lives—times of illness, loss, disappointment, or fear. These experiences can leave us feeling lost and alone, questioning everything we thought we knew. David's words remind us that it's okay to acknowledge our pain, to cry out to God in our anguish because God hears our cries even from the depths of despair, and the God of the turnaround will reach down to the deepest of depths to lift us up.

For those of us here on September 22nd, 2024, I encourage you to look back over your life. Have you ever been in a dark place? Ever felt like you were in a deep pit emotionally? Maybe the physical pain wracking your body was unbearable and the doctors couldn't figure out what was going on. Fear clouded your thoughts. Worry consumed you. Remember when you didn't think you would make it? Thought you could not take one more disappointment? The stress at work had you on the brink of a breakdown. The grief of losing a loved one was overwhelming. A friendship or romantic relationship that you thought would last a lifetime ended unexpectedly. You were this close to giving up. You had the towel in your hand ready to throw it in. Some nights you went to bed hoping that you wouldn't make it.

You had to give up. You had to give up. You had to give up. You had to give up. You had to wake up in the morning. But one day, the God of the turnaround showed up and reached down to you. Now your testimony is, "I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry. From the waters, God lifted me. Now safe am I. Love lifted me. When nothing else could help, it was God's love that lifted me."

Has God lifted you? Then according to Psalm 30, a proper response is for you to lift God with your praise and worship. That's what exalt means. This Psalm says, "I will exalt you because you lifted me." In other words, "God, you lifted me, so I'm going to lift you." This week, commit to thank God for being the lifter in your life. Hallelujah.

How do we keep the faith in the God of the turnaround while we wait for God to turn it around? First, we must remember that God lifts us from our deep pits. Second, we must recall how the God of the turnaround shifts our situations and circumstances. God lifts, God shifts.

The next section of the Psalm starts with a call to worship. Sing praises to the Lord, all who remain faithful. Pour out your hearts. Praise God's holy name. When God lifted David, he praised individually. When God shifted David's situation, he invited others to join him in worship. The same should be true for us. We should thank God individually, but sometimes we need to invite other believers to honor God with us.

When you get healed, throw a praise party, inviting other saints to celebrate the goodness of God with you. Find you a praise partner, a fellow worshiper who won't try to harness your happiness or fan out your flame. Get you a sister or brother who will be thankful to God for your blessing. It really is nothing like being with others who have also experienced God's goodness and faithfulness.

We should thank God individually, but sometimes we need to pray for others who have also experienced God's goodness and faithfulness. And if you needed another reason to thank God, here it is in verse five. God's anger lasts only a moment, but God's favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

In these verses, the Psalmist contrasts the temporary nature of God's anger with the enduring nature of God's favor. The Psalmist acknowledges that God's anger, though it may be just, though it may be necessary, it's not permanent and will only last for a long time. For a moment in comparison to God's eternal favor, God's eternal mercy, and grace.

This highlights God's character as being ultimately loving and merciful, even in times of correction. So we have David, though he is known as a man after God's own heart. These verses let us know he wasn't always humble and he didn't always do right. There were times when David was wrong and his actions were not pleasing in God's sight.

David acknowledges in Psalm 30 when things were quiet and life was easy, "I felt secure and said in arrogance, nothing can shake me. Lord, when you favored me, I thought I was strong as a mountain, but when you hid away, I crumbled in fear. I was dismayed. Oh God, I called out to you. I pleaded for your compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. I asked, 'What is gained if I am silenced? If I go down to the pit, I'm no good to you dead. My body in the grave will not pray. I will not pray. I will not pray. I will not pray. I will not pray. Will the dust praise you? From dust comes no proclamation of your faithfulness. Hear me, Lord. God, be merciful to me.'"

This passage speaks to a time when David, the powerful king of Israel, felt as if God had hidden his face from him. And I'm so glad that these verses were included in the Bible and not removed because it may bring up more questions than answers. But here they are in black and white—David expressing feelings centuries ago that some of us have felt in our lives.

Like God was either silent or absent. And at first, when I couldn't feel or hear God as clearly as I had before, I thought I had fallen out of favor with God. But as I've grown and matured, I realized that silence can be a part of our spiritual growth. It's not always necessarily punishment. God is still there. God is with us. God will not leave us even when we mess up. Sometimes God is not talking because God wants us to be quiet too.

Many of us are familiar with David and Bathsheba's story. And if you're not, make a note to check out 2 Samuel 11 sometime this week. You'll find enough drama there that you might be able to skip one of those reality shows. Here's a quick synopsis. In the springtime of the year, the season when most kings took their soldiers out to fight, David decided to stay in Jerusalem and send out Joab as the general in charge of the army instead.

So one day where David was not at battle, he saw Bathsheba bathing, and he thought she was beautiful. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he got word that Bathsheba was Uriah's wife. And Uriah was one of David's officers who had gone to war with the rest of David's troops. That should have been enough to stop him, but it wasn't. David sent for her, and she went.

Now, I don't have time to discuss whether or not Bathsheba had a choice in going to the king's palace or whether she gave consent for what happened because the short answer is no. She didn't have a choice. She couldn't give consent. Considering the power dynamics at work, she did not have a choice. So she was brought to the king. He had his way with her, and the Bible says that soon after she returned home, Bathsheba realized she was pregnant.

Since their encounter occurred after the time of purification, her husband Uriah could not have been the father. When David got word, he got scared. And since this was before Maury and DNA testing, he tried to get her husband to come home from battle and have relations with his wife so that in nine months, David would be born. And even if the child looked like David, Uriah would assume it was his.

But Uriah was a man of integrity. He refused to leave while his brothers were fighting a battle. The second night, David called Uriah in again. This time he got him drunk, hoping that that would lead him to going home to Bathsheba. But once again, Uriah stayed with the troops.

Now that should have snapped David back to reality, but it didn't. He was so sure of himself and his power. And instead of letting things go, David called Uriah in and gave him a chance to go home. And he did. And he did. And he did. And he did. And he did. And he did. He gave him a note to give to the commanding officer. And little does Uriah know that he just hand-delivered his own death warrant.

The letter said, "Put Uriah at the front of the battle in a place where the fighting is most intense. Then pull back and leave him in front of the line so that the enemy will strike him down and kill him." Joab did as he was instructed. Uriah is killed. David brings Bathsheba back into his home and makes her his wife. And he probably thought he was slick. Thought he had gotten away with it.

But 2 Samuel 11 ends with, "The Lord was angry because of what David had done." In health and in prosperity, David got arrogant, thinking all he had was of his own making rather than a gift from God. His self-confidence was shattered by the awareness of his own mortality and that of his baby.

Part of this psalm's beauty comes from its Hebraic literary style, which often uses parallelisms to highlight truths. Here we see night and morning used metaphorically, the night of weeping representing times of hardship or discipline and the morning of joy symbolizing deliverance and restoration.

To us, a modern audience, when we hear, "God's anger lasts only a moment," it might give us incorrect assumptions about the character of God. David is speaking from experience with God's discipline, explainable from the perspective of a loving father correcting a child for the child's future good. God's anger is not vindictive or petty, but a brief season aiming for correction, growth, and maturity.

God was angry, but God didn't stay angry because God's anger lasts only a moment. God's not petty. God's not like us. God's anger lasts for a moment, but God's favor lasts a lifetime. And to be clear, there were consequences for David's actions, and it led to some sleepless, sorrowful nights, but his favor with the Lord was returned, and so did his joy.

Because unlike us, God doesn't hold grudges forever. While God's anger and discipline can seem long-lasting, David acknowledged that they pale in comparison with the enduring favor and joy of the Lord. The image of weeping, staying for the night, reminds us that there will be periods of sorrow in life, but they're just temporary. Joy coming in the morning reminds us that the dawn of a new day is filled with restoration and God's brand new mercies.

This contrast between night and morning conveys a message of hope and assurance that God's faithfulness will bring about a turnaround from despair to joy to those of us who trust in the Lord. This should reassure us of God's unwavering love and the promise of God's favor and joy to come even in the midst of trials and challenges. It encourages us to trust in God's timing and faithfulness, knowing that God will bring about a transformation.

Sorrow to rejoicing will come in God's perfect timing. And that's a key point in God's timing. Because the turnaround may not happen in a 24-hour time frame. God's clock is not like ours. The God of the turnaround is the God who shifts, but the shift is not always swift. True faith involves trusting God's timing.

Sometimes the waiting period refines us and prepares us for the blessings that are to come. And it's comforting to remember that God can and will change sorrow into joy and mourning into dancing. Because grief may mark this season in our lives, but it does not have to define the extent of our life. God can turn it around, making our weeping a temporary situation and our joy a lifetime experience.

David's psalm reminds us that God is not indifferent to our suffering. This realization is crucial for navigating difficult seasons when we remember God's past faithfulness. We find strength for the present and hope for the future. We are reminded that we are not alone in our struggles. We come to know that the God of the turnaround is a God who hears our cries and responds with compassion and love.

So how do we keep the faith in the God of a turnaround while we wait for things to turn around? We must remember that God lifts, recall how God shifts. And I looked at a list of rhyming words and couldn't find one. So third and finally, we must recognize that God strips.

Psalm 30 verse 11 and 12 reads, "You did it. You turned my mourning into dancing. You stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. You have restored my honor. My heart is ready to erupt in songs. It's impossible to keep quiet. Oh Lord, my God, I will praise you forever."

In these verses, David acknowledges God's turnaround power in his life. God has shifted him from a place of mourning and sorrow to a place of joy and celebration. This shifting is attributed to God's intervention and God's grace.

The imagery of dancing, joy, and singing praises conveys a sense of liberation and gratitude for the goodness and blessings that God has bestowed upon him. David ends this song of praise celebrating a dramatic turnaround. Mourning, a state of deep sorrow, is turned into dancing, an act of celebration and joy.

The verb "turns" emphasizes that this change is an act of divine intervention, highlighting God's power to change our distress into deliverance. God stripped off the sackcloth David had been wearing, which was worn during mourning and times of repentance in ancient Israel. Sackcloth was a coarse material, often made from goat's hair, symbolizing humility and penitence.

So when God stripped him of the sackcloth, that signified the end of a period of grief and repentance. God lifts, God shifts, God strips. But when God strips off our mourning attire, God doesn't leave us exposed. In exchange, God clothes us with joy.

And that's not all. I know somebody can testify that the God of God is not the only one who can do that. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it. He can do it.

The turnaround has shifted some things in your life—shifted from sin to salvation, from death to deliverance, from pain to peace, from hurt to healing. God can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, a mistake into a masterpiece, a victim into a victor, war to peace, mourning into dancing, sickness into health, weeping into joy.

David ends Psalm 30 by expressing his commitment to praising God forever, recognizing that God has done so many great things for him. Once David was clothed with joy, he declared that he couldn't be silent. He had to praise the Lord. And the same should be true for us.

The purpose of this transformation, the purpose of our encounter with the God of the turnaround is to enable us to praise God with our entire being. We are to give God our wholehearted worship and not just one time. David said he can't be silent, which meant this praise is not a one-time event, but a continual act of worship.

"Oh Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever." And as I was writing about God lifting and shifting and stripping, I began to reflect on my own life and all I've been through to get me to the place where I am today.

We're two weeks away from the return of the Holistic Healing Conference, and this event was birthed out of my Master of Theology work. Some of you have heard parts of this story. In 2008, during an appointment to discuss my thesis topic for my degree in theology, I was a student at the University of Michigan, and I was a student at Union Presbyterian Seminary.

My advisor, Dr. Katie Cannon, listened as I spoke about wanting to write about the influence of hip-hop in the 21st century Black Baptist Church. Then, as an aside, I said, "If I need to come up with an alternate, we had this incident at church. A young woman came to the altar hours after being taken advantage of. The male minister who first talked to her seemed to question the validity of her story because he told me she said she was assaulted, but she didn't scream."

I told Dr. Cannon how I felt like church leaders needed to be better equipped to compassionately respond to congregants and community members in crisis. Dr. Cannon responded, "God placed this in your lap for a reason." And with that statement, my whole ministry focus changed.

After reading my thesis paper, which was called *Holistic Hurt, Holistic Healing, the Dance of Redemption for Survivors of Sexual Violence*, Pastor Nelson was determined that it should not just be a paper, but we needed to do a call to action. I said, "I'm going to do a call to action."

So starting in 2009, Six Mile Zion began dealing with issues such as intimate partner and dating violence, child abuse, elder abuse, Black families, depression, mental health, sexuality, and this year we returned with a focus on rethinking theology. I highly recommend you register and attend.

And this week I was thinking back when Dr. Cannon encouraged me to shift the focus of my thesis from hip-hop to tackling taboo topics. She didn't know that actually, and most people didn't know, that a few years later, Dr. Cannon said, "I'm going to do a call to action." I said, "I'm going to do a call to action."

And years earlier, I had been in a similar situation as our church member and also did not scream. I had been home in Connecticut for summer break from college. It was a guy from the neighborhood, and his brother told me that I had been enticing them by dancing to "Long As I Got King Jesus" by Dickie Winans.

For years after what I called the incident, I didn't dance. I changed the way I dressed so I could look as homely and unattractive as possible. I blamed myself. Like so many other survivors, I thought it was my fault. And then a few years of suffering silently, after a few years, one of my sisters in Christ, Deacon Spann's daughter, invited me to join the praise dance ministry at First African Baptist Church.

And at the time, this was the early 2000s, not a lot of churches allowed praise dancing. And if they did, it was just for the little kids and youth, not adults. But somehow, we got to dancing, and it was so freeing. When I began working at Six Mount Zion in 2005, there wasn't an adult praise dance ministry, but a few of us started on a women's day, and then we grew.

And I know I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one. I'm the only one. I'm the only one. I'm the only one. I'm not the best dancer. The other dancers can tell you sometimes I mix up my left and my right. I can't kick as high as I want to or spin as gracefully as I would like. But every time I have the opportunity to dance before the Lord, I pray that somebody watching knows that God has turned my mourning into dancing.

That what the enemy meant for evil, God turned around for my good. Every time I dance, I'm taking back what the enemy stole from me. When I dance, I'm reclaiming my peace, my confidence, and my strength. Over the past few years, I've come to recognize how God took that which was the most hurtful and devastating thing that ever happened in my life, and God has turned it into a blessing that has helped others in ways that I may not ever know.

God is the God of a turnaround. There's a song, one of my favorite songs is by Vashon Mitchell, "Turning Around for Me," and it says,

"Sometimes discouraged, but not defeated.