Psalm 89:15-16 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
They rejoice in your name all day long;
they exult in your righteousness.

The Japanese, following the Hebrew, if I understand correctly, says, “learned the shout of joy,” but “learned to acclaim You” is not a bad interpretation. The point is, we do need to learn to worship the Creator, the only true God, because their are so many counterfeits out there. We were created with an innate impulse to seek God and a capacity to know Him, at least to some degree, but the devil does all he can to distract and distort that, and he is far too successful! In this season of the year, when we should be focused on the incredible grace of God in coming to earth to be born as a human baby so that we might know Him better, we are instead caught up in greed and politics and human schemes of all sorts. We need to learn better to acclaim Him, and not man or his works. There is nothing more blessed than to walk in the light of God’s presence, in fellowship with Him, but we seek to replace that with technology and physical pleasure and the like. How foolish! This season, for all its flaws of historical timing or whatever, is still a magnificent opportunity to share the good news of God’s grace and love with others, so that they too may learn the true “shout of joy.”

This is truth I have to remind myself of every year, because all the busyness of the season drains me badly. I remember one year when my number one request for Christmas was a good night’s sleep! This year there are different factors, but the stress level is still very high. I need to remember “the shout of joy” myself, and rest, relax, and rejoice in the light of God’s presence. God’s grace has not changed, and it is still sufficient. His love has not changed, and it still applies to every person I encounter. His power has not changed, and it is still available to be manifested in and through my weakness to draw people to Him, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I needed it. Help me be Your agent each moment of today, not deciding ahead of time what needs to happen but letting You pour Your grace out onto, into, and through me. May I be an unclogged conduit for that grace to flow freely, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!