SHOUTING FOR JOY
Today's reading: Joshua 17:1-19:16, Luke 14:16-35, Psalm 71:22-24

"I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have redeemed me." Psalm 71:23 NLT

It's very quiet in the house.

It's still dark outside.

No one is stirring.

No one is about the day's busy-ness.

So I can imagine.

My mind can wander and my thoughts can run freely--so they do.

I'm picturing the garden where Jesus was laid to rest.

At this point that Easter morning, it was still dark and quiet there, too.

No one had come to prepare Jesus' body.

No other mourners were milling around the cemetery.

The night was still upon the tombs. The sky was still dark. The birds were quiet.

But there had to be one 'early bird' who knew what the day held.

Maybe that 'early bird' had seen Jesus step out of the grave.

It could have been it had been startled awake by the earthquake that rolled the stone away and placed the soldiers into a deep sleep.

Maybe that 'early bird' had seen the Light shine forth from the borrowed tomb.

But that 'early bird' knew the sunrise was holding more that morning than it would ever hold again.

It knew the songs had to be sung more clearly, more brightly, with more exuberance than ever before.

The song was pulsing in its chest. Resounding in its heart. Sitting on the tip of its little bird tongue ready for the first ray of the morning sun to break open the gift of Easter morning.

There is a song in my heart this morning, too.

It's the song of a redeemed, blood-bought, all-sins-forgiven, can't-understand-how-or-why-He-would-do-it-but-believes-wholeheartedly-He did 'early bird'.

"Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
Redeemed through His infinite mercy!
His child and forever I am!"