Psalm 30:11: “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; / You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,”

February 5th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

God exchanged David’s sackcloth, a garment traditionally worn in times of mourning, for a new item of clothing he called gladness. This gladness or joy, like a piece of clothing, surrounded him on every side. David did not give the credit for this change in his attitude and outlook to positive thinking or to his own powers of mind over matter. No, he clearly saw it as a gift from the hand of his Creator.

All believers seem to know the shortest verse in the English Bible: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Too bad we are not as familiar with Luke 10:21: “In that hour Jesus rejoiced . . .” Just maybe believers, for much too long, have been majoring on misery and minoring on joy. What do non-believers see when they look at believers?

President Abraham Lincoln once rejected a man recommended to him for an important position in his cabinet by saying, “I don’t like the man’s face.” When it was suggested to the president that the man could not be held responsible for his face, Lincoln replied, “Every man over forty is responsible for his face.” Could it be that God also holds us responsible for the look on our faces? Thankfully, if we humble and submit ourselves to the Lord, He will turn our “mourning into dancing.”

“LORD, we bring our pain and sorrows and put them down before You, at the foot of the cross. Please cloth us in Your joy this day we ask, in Jesus’ name.”