24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Companions,
You know how it is when a tune gets in your head and you think about it all day, well that’s the way it was today with Psalm 118:24. It was a beautiful cool sunny day but that is not what the verse is about. It is in the context of unfolding scriptural prophecy. We rejoice in the fact that this is not just some random day but that the LORD made this day as part of his loving eternal plan for us. We will not always have pleasant happy days and may have days we cry a lot. Even Job who is renowned for his patience complained that “My eyes have grown dim from grief, and my whole body has become but a shadow” but he did not give up on God even though his wife told him to “curse God and die”. “It is Well with My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford is one of my favorite hymns and the first stanza puts it well:
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot you have taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:3
The prayer is based on Psalm 31:7
O LORD, I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love because You have seen my affliction and have promised to make it well with my soul. Amen.
Jack A. Holloway
I. Associate Grand Chaplain