Lutheran Daily Devotional 31 October 2022: Pleased

Lutheran Daily Devotional 31 October 2022 || Monday Message By Lutheran Hour Ministries

Read Lutheran Daily Devotional 31 October 2022

TOPIC: Pleased

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Psalm 149:2-4 – Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise His Name with dancing, making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre! For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation.

It’s an all-out celebration, the kind of party with music and dancing that continues late into the night. We may wonder—especially if we live next door and are trying to sleep—if the occasion for the joy might be a birthday, a wedding, or an anniversary. Perhaps it is a “welcome home” party for a friend or family member. These are all good excuses for a party, but the psalmist summons us to the celebration for a different reason.

We are rejoicing in our Maker and King. We have good reason to celebrate because “the LORD takes pleasure in His people.” We know that we are sinners. We are not always very delightful. Why would the Lord take pleasure in us? God in His grace, His undeserved favor for sinners, takes pleasure in us because He takes pleasure in His Son, who offered up His life as the sacrifice to atone for our sins. At Jesus’ Baptism, God the Father spoke His favor: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17b).

After His Baptism, the beloved Son began His public ministry of teaching and healing and, at the right time, took up His path to the cross. Jesus’ enemies took no pleasure in Him; they rejected Him as their Savior and rejoiced to see Him condemned and crucified.

As the Savior hung on the cross, His enemies mocked Jesus’ obedience to His Father and ridiculed the Father’s pleasure in His Son, saying, “He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him” (Matthew 27:43a). God did not deliver His beloved Son. Jesus suffered and died for us so that through faith in Him we would be delivered from sin, death, and the power of Satan.

The Lord who takes pleasure in His people “adorns the humble with salvation.” We can do nothing to save ourselves. No good works, no efforts of our own, could ever be sufficient to establish for ourselves a right relationship with God. It is the humble who are adorned with salvation, those who are moved by the Holy Spirit to repent of their sins and humbly acknowledge their need for a Savior.

For Jesus’ sake, God takes pleasure in us. He forgives our sins and clothes us—as if dressing us for a party!—in the righteousness of Jesus His Son. We may or may not praise the Lord with dancing and tambourines, but however we choose to celebrate, we have every reason to be glad and rejoice in our Maker, King, and Savior!

WE PRAY: My Maker and King, I will celebrate Your love and mercy forever! Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Reflection Questions:

1. What’s the last really great party you went to?

2. How has God shown that He takes pleasure in us?

3. Clearly, praising God with music and dancing is in the Bible. Is this something you would feel comfortable doing—why or why not?

Today’s Bible Readings: Jeremiah 50    Hebrews 6

Lutheran Daily Devotional 31 October 2022 from LHM will help strengthen and encourage your faith as you do the same for others. Have them delivered right to your inbox, podcast the audio devotional, access them on your mobile device through the FREE app, or listen with Spotify, iHeart Radio, Alexa, or Google Home. Seasonal Devotions for Advent and Lent are also available in both English and Spanish. Perfect for personal reflection or to share with family, friends and congregations, these seasonal meditations will help prepare you to celebrate the true meaning of these seasons. Lutheran Daily Devotional 31 October 2022