Monday, October 26, 2026

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. (Psalm 149:4)

Now and again, when we look into a mirror or consider a particular talent we have, we may judge ourselves to be at least somewhat good (or good-looking). Yet when we consider our sin, our disobedience of God’s Law, we end up with a very different picture, and it is not a pretty one. As we admit in the confession of sins in the liturgy, we “are by nature sinful and unclean” and we have sinned against God “in thought, word, and deed.” Even if we like to pretend that we obey God fairly well, His Law does not allow escape or excuses: “Whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10) or, as Jesus said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The image we see of ourselves reflected in the mirror of God’s Law is an accurate one, but it is not something that should make us proud.

Yet as unlovely and unlovable as we are, the psalmist confidently declares, “The LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation.” The Lord takes pleasure in us because He looks on us in grace. God’s grace is His undeserved favor for sinners. It is favor that we can never earn. God takes pleasure in us because He loves us. He takes pleasure in us because He is pleased with His Son, our Lord Jesus, who was sent to redeem us. God did not wait for us to improve or for a better image to be reflected in the mirror of His Law. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God in grace “adorns the humble with salvation.” Through the power of His Spirit at work in the Word, God calls us to submit ourselves to Him and repent of our sins. In humble repentance we admit that the image we see mirrored in God’s Law is accurate. Through the work of the Spirit, we also hear the comforting message of the Gospel. God is love. He takes pleasure in us. Acting in love and grace, God sent His Son to bear our sins in His body on the cross. Jesus took onto Himself the terrible and unlovely weight of our sins and through faith in Him our sins are forgiven. We stand before God adorned in salvation, dressed in the bright righteousness of our crucified and risen Savior. God’s love for us, the pleasure He takes in us, is not based on who we are or what we have done, but on who He is and what He, in Christ Jesus, has done for us.

WE PRAY: Spirit of God, guide me so that my thoughts, words, and actions reflect the love of Jesus. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Reflection Questions:

1. Are there certain days that you can think of when you seemed to follow God more closely, obeyed Him more fully? What did you do in those days that was different than any other?
2. Can you expand on what it means to say that God in His grace “adorns the humble with salvation”?
3. How does this gift from God have significance for you in your day-to-day life?

Today's Readings:

Jeremiah 25, 45-46
Hebrews 1

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