Discussion questions:

1. The Psalms reflect that human beings regularly find themselves in one of three places: orientation (coherence), disorientation (trouble), and reorientation (trust). We are constantly going through this three-fold cycle. In which place do you find yourself right now and why?

2. We all like blessing more than suffering. Reread David’s mini-biography about prosperity, distress, and deliverance. Why was blessing bad for David and suffering good for him? How does that challenge the underlying assumptions about blessing and suffering that you carry every day?

3. On the other side of trials, there is a new kind of praise that we can only have after going through deep waters. Since all of us have, are, or soon will experience trouble like David did, talk about what he learned that we need to know (especially verse 5). How can we cultivate praise when we find ourselves in times of trouble?

4. Psalm 30 is full of powerful reversals: anger turns to favor, weeping to joy, mourning to dancing, sackcloth to festive garments, etc. How have you experienced these in your own life? How are they also a lens for understanding what God does in the life of Jesus, David’s greater son?