November 20th, 2024
by Matt Townsend
by Matt Townsend
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24
We’ve all heard this verse. Many of us have likely seen it, either on a bumper sticker or on a plaque above their entryway. It’s a verse we’ve become so familiar with that it goes in one ear and out the other without much thought.
However, what if we recontextualized this verse? What if we put these words in the mouth of a soldier under fire? What if we put these words in the mouth of a nursing mother, trying to soothe her colicky infant? What if we put these words in the mouth of a person in the unemployment line, not knowing how they’ll pay their next bill? What if we put these words in the mouth of the terminal patient in a hospital bed, surrounded by mourning family and friends?
When we think of this verse in these contexts, these words almost seem ridiculous. Rejoice … really? Be glad … you’re kidding, right? The Lord made this day … was He asleep at the wheel when He made it or did He just not care about me?
Words like these can almost feel cruel until we look at the one who embodied them during the most difficult season of His life—Jesus. Let me explain …
Psalms 113-118 are known to the Jewish community as the Psalms of Hallel, or the Psalms of Praise. They would be read by the Jews at Synagogues during festive occasions. Not only that, during Passover season, as Jews would make their pilgrimage to the Holy Land to observe the Passover, families would recite these Psalms together while they walked, ate, and prayed.
That means Jesus recited these verses every year as He made His pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Mary, Joseph, and His brothers and sisters. Every year, Jesus’ family would pick one spotless lamb from their flock that would be slain on their behalf, for their sins (not Jesus, of course). Every year, Jesus would recite these words, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it,” knowing full well that one day, He would be the chosen, spotless lamb to die for others.
Yes, Jesus, at the dawn of His arrest and crucifixion would have recited these words on the way to Jerusalem with His disciples. Here’s the crazy part … He not only recited these words, He actually meant them. He knew the days ahead of suffering, heartache, heartbreak, and of abandonment were made, planned, and decreed by His loving Father. Yes, Jesus rejoiced in what was to come and was glad in what His work on the cross would accomplish. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “For the JOY set before, he endured the cross…”
If anyone can identify with you in this season of hardship, scarcity and fear, it’s Jesus. He not only suffered, He faced His suffering with a sense of joy and purpose.
Let these words change the way you face your trial right now. Instead of looking at your trials and tribulations as a burden to be freed from, look at them as a privilege to be leaned into. I know that seems easier said than done but it’s none-the-less true.
The hard days ahead are days that have either come from or have passed through the hands of a sovereign God who loves you and cherishes you as His beloved child. You may not rejoice or be glad in the trial itself, but you can certainly be glad and rejoice in the God who walks with you through the trial. You can rejoice and be glad in the purposes He has for you, as He works out His perfect plan through your hardship. You can rejoice and be glad that in your suffering, you can know God at an entirely deeper level you could never experience Him at when life is easy. And, more than anything, you can rejoice that one day, these hardships will be no more, wiped away with the tears of our hardship, and replaced by the tears of relief and gratitude at the presence of the one who walked with us every step of the way—Jesus.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24
We’ve all heard this verse. Many of us have likely seen it, either on a bumper sticker or on a plaque above their entryway. It’s a verse we’ve become so familiar with that it goes in one ear and out the other without much thought.
However, what if we recontextualized this verse? What if we put these words in the mouth of a soldier under fire? What if we put these words in the mouth of a nursing mother, trying to soothe her colicky infant? What if we put these words in the mouth of a person in the unemployment line, not knowing how they’ll pay their next bill? What if we put these words in the mouth of the terminal patient in a hospital bed, surrounded by mourning family and friends?
When we think of this verse in these contexts, these words almost seem ridiculous. Rejoice … really? Be glad … you’re kidding, right? The Lord made this day … was He asleep at the wheel when He made it or did He just not care about me?
Words like these can almost feel cruel until we look at the one who embodied them during the most difficult season of His life—Jesus. Let me explain …
Psalms 113-118 are known to the Jewish community as the Psalms of Hallel, or the Psalms of Praise. They would be read by the Jews at Synagogues during festive occasions. Not only that, during Passover season, as Jews would make their pilgrimage to the Holy Land to observe the Passover, families would recite these Psalms together while they walked, ate, and prayed.
That means Jesus recited these verses every year as He made His pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Mary, Joseph, and His brothers and sisters. Every year, Jesus’ family would pick one spotless lamb from their flock that would be slain on their behalf, for their sins (not Jesus, of course). Every year, Jesus would recite these words, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it,” knowing full well that one day, He would be the chosen, spotless lamb to die for others.
Yes, Jesus, at the dawn of His arrest and crucifixion would have recited these words on the way to Jerusalem with His disciples. Here’s the crazy part … He not only recited these words, He actually meant them. He knew the days ahead of suffering, heartache, heartbreak, and of abandonment were made, planned, and decreed by His loving Father. Yes, Jesus rejoiced in what was to come and was glad in what His work on the cross would accomplish. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “For the JOY set before, he endured the cross…”
If anyone can identify with you in this season of hardship, scarcity and fear, it’s Jesus. He not only suffered, He faced His suffering with a sense of joy and purpose.
Let these words change the way you face your trial right now. Instead of looking at your trials and tribulations as a burden to be freed from, look at them as a privilege to be leaned into. I know that seems easier said than done but it’s none-the-less true.
The hard days ahead are days that have either come from or have passed through the hands of a sovereign God who loves you and cherishes you as His beloved child. You may not rejoice or be glad in the trial itself, but you can certainly be glad and rejoice in the God who walks with you through the trial. You can rejoice and be glad in the purposes He has for you, as He works out His perfect plan through your hardship. You can rejoice and be glad that in your suffering, you can know God at an entirely deeper level you could never experience Him at when life is easy. And, more than anything, you can rejoice that one day, these hardships will be no more, wiped away with the tears of our hardship, and replaced by the tears of relief and gratitude at the presence of the one who walked with us every step of the way—Jesus.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24
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