Day 22

Day 22
Sunday, December 19

“Sing to the Lord a new song
because he has done wonderful things!
His own strong hand and his own holy arm
have won the victory!
The Lord has made his salvation widely known;
he has revealed his righteousness
in the eyes of all the nations.
God has remembered his loyal love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
every corner of the ear has seen our God’s salvation.

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
Be happy!
Rejoice out loud!
Sing your praises!
Sing your praises to the Lord with the lyre —
with the lyre and the sound of music.
With trumpets and a horn blast,
shout triumphantly before the Lord, the King!
Let the sea and everything in it roar;
the world and all its inhabitants too.
Let all the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains rejoice out loud all together before the Lord
because he is coming to establish justice on the earth!
He will establish justice in the world rightly;
he will establish justice among all people fairly.”

Psalm 98

Reflection
This Psalm has both a very positive and powerful message! It proclaims that God has done countless awesome and amazing things. We should break out some trumpets and horns and praise the Lord. With the help of God’s almighty power, we should even command the oceans to roar, the hills to sing, and the rivers to clap their hands!

This Christmas season, of course, is a great opportunity for us to fulfill this call. But for any number of reasons whether it be financial, mental health, or family reasons, Christmas might not always be easy to celebrate. This Psalm serves as a reminder that only God has the almighty power to help us through any of these issues and celebrate God’s glory doing the Christmas season.

Prayer
God, I pray that you help us to celebrate you during this special time of year. Maybe some of us don’t know how we can make it through this season financially. Others of us may be remember the good days of the past and are struggling with feelings that Christmas doesn’t live up to that anymore. Maybe some of us feel lonely or are wrestling with family obligations and relationships with family members that come up during this time. While all of these struggles are very real and difficult for us to deal with, I pray you use your almighty power to help us through them and celebrate you and your bringing of justice and salvation to humanity during this special time of year. Amen.

Reflection by Bryan Luettgen