“But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.”
Psalm 68:3
But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
Some days feel like the start of Psalm 68: loud, scary, uncertain, bad news, hard exams, and broken friendships. Then one small word changes everything – ‘But’.
“But let the righteous be glad.”
Notice where this joy happens. It doesn’t wait for the problems to disappear. It happens before God. Joy here is not a mood. It is a place – standing near Someone bigger than whatever scares you. David wrote this as the ark, the sign of God’s presence, entered Jerusalem surrounded by people dancing. They weren’t celebrating a perfect life. They were celebrating a Presence.
The same psalm calls this God a father to the fatherless, who places the lonely in families. His nearness and His kindness give us reason to rejoice.
But who are “the righteous”? If they are people who get everything right, none of us qualifies. Here is the good news – Jesus is the Righteous One. He took our place and gave us His righteousness as a gift. We don’t earn a seat at the celebration. He already paid for it.
Children and teenagers – you don’t have to be perfect to run to Jesus. You don’t have to fake being okay. Bring the real mess, and joy can grow right beside it.
No matter the situation, let the righteous be glad. The invitation stays the same, because the One who stands with us never changes. Perhaps you could let the verse’s three steps – be glad, rejoice, rejoice exceedingly – grow in you. Start by quietly being glad that Jesus is near. Then thank Him aloud for one good thing. One day, you might even sing and dance in His presence, even through hardships.
