This Is the Day

What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Maybe you grab a cup of coffee or tea. Perhaps you listen to, read, or watch the news. Maybe you’re getting ready and leaving for work. Or perhaps you don’t really have any sort of morning routine. Often, I wake up quite a while before I need to get up and, being a morning person, I don’t usually go back to sleep. Many times, I use the ‘spare’ time to think about the day that lies before me, the previous day, or things from the past. Other times, I recall Scripture or things God has taught me, or begin composing these blogs in my head. One common theme though, as I begin to prepare for my day is the verse from Psalm 118. “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

              Some days, it’s easy to think about the day being a joyful one. I’m well-rested, and there’s exciting plans for the day. Everything is going smoothly, and there’s a lot to be happy about. But there are days when that verse is a reminder that I can (and should) rejoice. Maybe it’s the second or third day in a row that I’ve been up since two, and I know it’s going to be a long day. Or maybe there’s something less than pleasant on my agenda to accomplish that day. Maybe stress is building up, and everything seems overwhelming. But regardless of the reason, it’s not so easy to find something to rejoice about. What’s to be done on those days? Is there some sort of clause that allows for exceptions? No, it is still the day that God has made, and while you and I don’t understand the purpose of those difficult days, the all-wise God has allowed them.

              On days that it’s hard to find things to rejoice about in our circumstances, we can rejoice in who God is, and in the relationship we share with Him. Psalm 103 is a wonderful passage to outline these truths for us. It begins by calling for us to bless the Lord. “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thy iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103: 1-3). The first thing that David, the author of this Psalm, reminds us of is the wonderful truth that God will forgive our sin. We do not need to try to earn God’s forgiveness or favor. He offers us forgiveness, and we accept it by faith (you can read more about this in my previous post Persistent Love). The next verse continues, “Who redeemeth thy soul from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Not only are our sins forgiven, and there is peace between us and God, but also He gives us good things, renews our strength, and freely loves us and tenderly cares for us. That’s a lot of things to rejoice about.

              The next verses continue with more about who God is. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward us. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (verses 8-12). God is gracious (giving us good things that we do not deserve) and merciful (not giving us the bad that we do deserve). On top of that, even though He is a holy and righteous God who hates sin, He does not immediately get angry when we sin. When He corrects us, it does not last forever. And He doesn’t keep record of our past sins to hang over our heads to make us feel guilty. He forgives our sins, and cleanses us. He lifts us up, and guides us in the way that we should go. And we can rejoice in the wonder of Who our God is and the grace and mercy He extends to us.

              The last verses I want to share from this Psalm are sort of ‘all-purpose’ ones. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (13-14). Some times we find ourselves in circumstances that seem overwhelming. Difficult, complex situations arise, and decisions must be made. Close friends or family members are given a limited life-expectancy due to their health situation. Personal issues seem like a dark tunnel, with little or no evidence of an end. Dear ones are struggling or self-destructing, and nothing seems to reach them. In these situations, we can pour out our hearts to God and find refuge in Him. He understands our grief, our pain, our perplexity, our frustrations and feelings of failure and weakness. He knows our frame. And He has pity on us. In these darkest and hardest of times, we have the opportunity to see more clearly the depth of His love, the extent of His strength, and the tenderness of His care, all so sweetly and gently given to us. And in that we can rejoice, even in the pain and grief of the storm.

              Dear friend, I don’t know how your day started, and none of us know how a day will end. But I do know that this is the day that God has made for you and for me. He has allowed everything that happens, and He knows what is best for each of us. And while we trust Him with that, we can rejoice in the relationship we have through faith in Him. We can rejoice in His grace and mercy. And we can rejoice in knowing that He knows just how much we can take and is not leaving us alone to deal with struggles on our own. “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

This is the Day

‘Tis easy to rejoice

In sun and sky of blue,

And flowers by the way

With birds all singing, too.

But hard -so hard – to find

The joy in mist and rain;

And difficult to see

The good of shrouding fog.

And yet – this is the day

Our Lord has made;

So we shall still rejoice,

Though walking now in misty shade.