You Take My Mourning and Turn It Into Dancing
“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.” Psalm 30:11
The hesitant turns of a little girl now grown are turning into free, wholehearted twirls of delight for her Daddy.
The sin that magnifies the opinions of others and shrinks the Truth of the only Opinion that matters is being sloughed off with each sweep of my arm and twirl before You, and others. And the despair, my sickly-comforting default, is being pushed down, crushed under the joy of a free life in You. My mourning, the years-long default of despair, is literally being turned into dancing.
Burning in my heart is a desire to worship You with all of me. You have brought me from the pit; You have saved me from countless attempts at the life of my soul; You have given me a new identity. You are holding my hand and leading me out of darkness and into the light and teaching me what it means to be Your daughter. You, the most Holy, deserve my most undignified worship.
You are so patient. Though my desire has been to dance freely before You, I have taken my eyes off of You numerous times, too concerned about what others around me might think. But You are a gentle leader. You hold my hand, showing me that this isn’t too hard, this breaking through into more life in my soul.
You are trustworthy. You ask me to take the first step, reassuring me that You’ll be right there with me. I choose to trust, and You give joy. You give life to my bones and the darkness flees. The physical oppression I’ve felt is gone.
And I see and feel more than ever, that this is what I was created for. It’s the dancing, but it’s the freedom and power that comes in and through my dance before You. Dancing is life giving. You are giving life—You love to give life. With each new movement, the strong undergirding of gladness is reinforced, a reminder of all You’ve done, of all You are.
What once was a secret dream is turning into a reality full of significance and power that You are shedding light on as I walk this road with You. Now, I have to dance. I cannot hold it in anymore– You are my Life. You have my heart and I want to offer it to You a thousand times over.
(You know me, I can’t NOT put a song on here…)
This post is part of Monday Morning Chai Link Up over at
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that’s it, isn’t it? the surprise of joy in tasting freedom in Him. that realization – that coming into the “spacious place” He has brought us into because He delights in us – that is what triumphs over the despair. so encouraging to hear it confirmed in your words. thank you!
love this song! was just introduced to it by our church’s worship team a couple of weeks ago. played often in our house now.