18 May | EVERYONE
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Psalm 30: 11,12
Elmer could not understand how, from one day to the next, his company had collapsed. Actually, the numbers had been in the red for a long time, but he did not accept the difficult situation until the time came when he could not keep the commitments he had made. As a result of the complete loss of his possessions, he plunged into a pit of depression and misery. He spent whole days without leaving the house. He did not see light at the end of the tunnel, and he came to think that death might be the only way out.
It was under these circumstances that the Word of God came into his hands. At first, he turned it down. He had always believed that religion was a crutch for weak people, for people who were unable to fight with their own strength. But the days passed, and he was wasting away in his pain like a candle coming to an end.
One day, he took the Holy Book in his hands, he opened it, and came across today's verse, underlined in red ink: “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.”
These words reached the depths of his dejected heart, and from then on, he studied and meditated on the Scriptures with eagerness and care. He understood that David wrote this psalm after seeing his enemies defeated by God, and Elmer's heart was filled with hope. He put his life in God's hands, started practically from scratch, and grew up to become a successful entrepreneur again, becoming much more prosperous than in the first phase of his life.
Today, the daily song of his heart is, "may [I] sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever."
Take Action
God does not distinguish between one person or another, He longs to bless us all. So, you too can sing that song. Sing "I’ll Give Thanks to You Forever" (if possible, with your family).