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.
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
As I read through the Psalms I often think of parenting and compare my relationship to God with my relationship to my children. I think of the times when they mess up or fail and I become angry with them for what they have done. My anger lasts only a brief minute and the incident is soon resolved and forgiven. My love and favor for my children will stand the test of time regardless of what they might do. God always wants to remind us that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. Sometimes we need to be told that phrase over and over again until it sinks in because we often know it in our head but fail to allow it to saturate into our heart.
A sackcloth was used to more most often when someone had died. We can think about our own spiritual death or even the death of a recent loved one. When God saves us he takes of the darkness and mourning and clothes us with joy. What a beautiful picture to put on clothes of joy. In the same way when a believer goes to heaven to see God they are clothed with joy to be home with God.
Remind yourself today that you can rest in God's favor and that he wants to clothe you with joy.
Food for thought:
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