Read Psalm 86:1-7. 1Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. 3Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. 4Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 6Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. 7In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
When you are in a covenant with God, you are godly. When your God can be trusted, you trust. When your God is loving, you love. When your God is forgiving, you are forgiven. When your God is gracious, you receive grace. When your God answers prayer, you call out to him. When your God is your master, you are his servant.
When all these are true of your God, you have no problem asking him to gladden your soul, because you know that gladness is not conditioned on your circumstance, but rather on the attributes of your God. Though still poor and needy, still troubled, God is our God.
How much more must our gladness be in Christ? This is why the Apostles can command our joy. As in Philippians, we may be poor and needy still, yet able to be gladded in soul because we are in Christ. Christ our covenant God. Christ our trustworthy God. Christ our loving God. Christ our forgiving God. Christ our gracious God. Christ our prayer answering God. Christ our master.
To live is Christ binds our life to Christ’s in such a way that it is always reasonable to ask for the gladness of the soul that comes from God’s grace and love.
Prayer. Jesus, gladden the soul of your servant, even in the midst of trouble, for you are my gracious God. Amen.
To Live is Christ 