Rejoice in the Lord and Be Glad

December 13, 2022

Psalm 32:11 - Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

David starts this chapter talking about the great blessings that God gives man when he is forgiven. He talks about how his sin is no longer exposed, how it is covered, no longer to be seen. He goes on to talk about how God will instruct, teach and guide His people. Verse 10, right before our verse today, David writes about how the wicked will have many sorrows, but if they trust in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.  David had sinned and knew what it was like to feel the sorrow that came with sinning.  He also knew the mercy of God once he repented of his sin.

Today’s verse has him giving the reason for believers to rejoice, be glad and show for joy! It’s forgiveness. There is joy in forgiveness because God is faithful to forgive, and you don’t have to keep feeling guilty about what you have done. God is there to help you.  

He finishes telling all who are upright in heart to sing! Those who stay in tune with God, who are quick to repent when they are wrong, they are the ones who have reason to sing and rejoice. They are the ones who can celebrate His grace and His steadfast love. We can rejoice when we are forgiven because we know we will always have God’s amazing grace, his love, protection, guidance and forgiveness, even if we sin. 

I read an article that talked about the five joyful experiences that come when we are forgiven.

1. You listen better.  Many times when we sin, we hide from God, so if we confess our sins, we quit avoiding God so we’ll be able to listen for His voice again.
2. You respond better because you again hear His voice.
3. You experience love better because you feel free to love again. Forgiveness releases the guilt we feel.
4. You praise God better because of the sense of relief that you feel from being forgiven.
5. You pray better.  God desires to listen to our prayers, He enjoys hearing our prayers. When you are listening better, responding better, loving better and praising God, you automatically will pray better. 

If you are feeling guilt for something you’ve done, confess it to God, ask Him to wipe away the guilt, to forgive the sin and ask Him to bring the joy that comes from forgiveness back into your life.