This is the Day that the Lord Has Made!
Psalm 118 is such an encouraging chapter! It is one the most uplifting, praise ridden Psalms that scholars say was penned by David.
I’m no Bible scholar by any means, but when I read this Psalm I can’t help but feel my spirits lifted! Psalm 118 is the last of the Hallel Pslams, which simply means the “Songs of Praise.” These songs were traditionally sung at the holidays or on feast days. This particular Psalm was a Passover song.
When I learned this interesting fact about this Psalm it literally gave me chill bumps! This was the song that Jesus sang with His disciples at the Passover meal BEFORE He was betrayed, mocked, humiliated, and crucified!!! He gave thanks to His Father for His goodness! (v1) He acknowledged that God was for Him and that man could not harm Him! (v 6). He took His refuge in God (v 8). He would soon be surrounded by enemies from all sides (v 11), but the Lord helped Him! The Lord was His strength! (v. 13-14). He would not die, but He would live! He would live to tell the works of the Lord! (v. 17-18). He rejoiced because this was the day that the Lord had made! (v 24)
As I sit here on January 20th, 2021 I have a sense of peace. This peace can only come from God! All the events leading up to this day have brought me nothing but fear and anxiety! We have faced many difficult and challenging times over the last year! Everything has been turned upside down. We have seen riots in the streets. We have witnessed a pandemic that has basically shut down the world. We have seen friend turn against friend. We have seen brother turn against brother. We have witnessed what will surely be an election that no one will ever forget.
But, before I even got out of bed this morning, the words of this Psalm came to my mind. I went over in my head the positive affirmation of the fact that “this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” I got up, fixed my coffee in my “Today I choose Joy” coffee mug. Got out my Bible and went to the Psalm that contained this verse. I then looked at my phone. It was mind blowing that last night I received a text from a dear friend that has another verse from this same Pslam “ It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” My mind was blown!!!
See, over the last year or so many of us have placed our trust in the leaders in DC to save America. We have put our trust in policies. We have put our trust in the Constitution. We have put our trust in our President. But, ultimately our trust needs to be in God Almighty! He is for us! He is our refuge! It may seem that we are surrounded on every side, but rest assured, God will help us!
I don’t know what these next days look like, but as a body of believers, we must rise up! We must not fall back in fear! We must put our trust in God! We must be a light to a dark world!
So, today in what would normally be a very sad day for me, I choose Joy! I have the worship music blaring! I have my Bible out and I am digging for nuggets of truth to get me through what is to come!
Peace,
Kim
