Easter Monday Devotion – Pastor Erick Thompson
Psalm 118:14-17
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
Happy Easter Monday!! In the season of Easter, we continue to celebrate the risen Christ. I thought this psalm would be a wonderful meditation for all of us in the coming weeks. In Easter we turn our attention to what God has done for all of us. Most importantly, in Easter, our claim that God is our salvation rises to the top. As Christians, our focus remains on God’s power and God’s presence. I wonder though, what would it look like if we began to live out verse 17, “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.”?
The answer is found in our identity as a resurrection people. On Easter Monday that might be the most important thing we claim. As a resurrection people, we shall not die, but we shall live. The question might be, “how shall we live?” I believe God’s hope for us is abundant life. I take this from John 10, where Jesus says, “I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” The key here is not that we will live forever, but that if God is part of who we are, our lives will be full, no matter how difficult or easy they may be.
As we continue our stay at home orders, I want to encourage to continue to claim your identity as a resurrection people. Life may not be easy right now, but one of our greatest resources comes from a God who accompanies us on our journeys, even into the wilderness of a society living with the coronavirus. Best of all, this resource is free. God’s grace and love is the free gift of Christ to all of us through the waters of baptism. The more we can say, “The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation,” the more we will gain mental and emotional strength for the journey ahead, no matter where it may lead.
Prayer: Mighty God, you give us your Son so that we might know grace. Help us to rely upon this grace in the days ahead, so that we might have strength to find abundant life. Amen.
