In Thee is Gladness (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 867)
1 In thee is gladness
amid all sadness,
Jesus, sunshine of my heart.
By thee are given
The gifts of heaven,
Thou the true redeemer art
Our souls thou wakest;
our bonds thou breakest.
Who trust thee surely has built securely
And stands forever: Alleluia!
Our hearts are pining
To see thy shining,
Dying or living,
To thee are cleaving;
naught can us sever: Alleluia!
2 Jesus is ours!
We fear no powers,
Not of earth or sin or death.
He sees and blesses
in worst distresses;
He can change them with a breath
Wherefore the story tell of his glory
with heart and voices;
all heav’n rejoices
in him forever: Alleluia!
We should for gladness, triumph o’er sadness,
love him and praise him
and still shall raise him
glad hymns forever: Alleluia!
Text: Johann Lindemann; Music: Givanni Giacomo Gastoldi; Public Domain
Devotion
We live in a world and in a way that can be full of sadness. Jesus comes into this world and our lives to disrupt our ways. Our sleepy habits and forms get roused. The chains that constrain us or that we use to shackle others are broken. Though storms of this world may rage around us, those who build on the cornerstone of Christ will not be overcome.
The agents of sadness—sin, death, and the devil as Martin Luther put it—beset us. God knows what seeks after us and protects us as precious and vulnerable sheep. The good shepherd knows his sheep by name, gladly gives his life to deter the wolves, leaves the flock to go after the loner stuck in the wilderness, and returns with gladness and joy when that one has been safely returned.
Our surest and deepest gladness is found in Jesus. May we know that gladness down to our deepest and innermost being. May we find ways to convey and coax that gladness into the lives of all we can.
Prayer
Weeping lasts for the nighttime, but your abiding and bedrock gladness comes in the morning. Protect us through the night and send us out in the new day’s light. Amen.