“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” NKJV
This text is from one of my favorite psalms, and the printed verse one of my favorite verses. In a former pastorate, the children’s choir used to sing a chorus based on the text verse. (The tune is going through my head as I write.) When I read it this morning, some thoughts came to mind that I want to share with you. Do we really believe that “This is the day the Lord has made"? And will we "rejoice and be glad in it"? As we go through the day and meet its frustrations, do we believe that God made the day and do we still rejoice in it? This is an important question. Do we experience, or feel, His presence in the frustrations? Frankly, there are times when I have to stop and remember this verse. I find that the small frustrations that I meet in a day challenge me more than the bigger issues. I have a feeling that I am not alone in this. Seriously, if we really believe that “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” we will make an effort to rejoice anyway. It does give us something to think about --- doesn’t it???? That brings me to the next thought that I had on this subject this morning: Does the fact that “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” make a difference in our lives? You can see from what I wrote above, that I need to work on it. (Don’t scoff. I imagine that you need to work on it too.) After I thought about it for a moment, I realized that it is according to what the frustration or problem is that I have to face in a day. It is interesting that the small things, like a temperamental computer, causes a negative reaction, but bigger things are taken in stride. We need to work on letting this text make a difference in our lives in the large and small things, and we will be happier, more content, people. If we see God’s presence in everything that happens in our lives, we will look at life’s problems differently. This brings me to the next thought that I had on this subject this morning: Does the fact that “we will rejoice and be glad in it” mean that we will smile and be happy about everything that happens? You know that there are things that happen in our lives that will make us unhappy. If we get bad news about the death of a loved one, we do not laugh. If we have an accident that injures us, we do not laugh. What we do is rejoice in the fact that God is with us in the bad and the good things that happen in our lives. God is present at all times in our lives. Jesus promised to be with us until the end of the ages. He promised to give us the Holy Spirit to live in us and go through all of life’s experiences with us. We rejoice in the fact that all that Jesus promised is true. He never promised us that every thing that happens in our lives will be good, and that we will win at everything in life. His presence is the important ingredient that causes rejoicing, not that everything is good and goes our way. Rejoicing is not always jumping up and down and chanting, “We are number one.” Rejoicing can also be thanking God for His presence and for His work in our lives regardless. It is true that “This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” There is no joy like the joy of knowing Christ and knowing that He is with us in all of life – the good and the bad. Rejoice! Bro. Joe
2 Comments
Margaret M Jones
9/18/2015 09:04:37 am
Amen, every day!
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Jenni Smith
9/18/2015 09:40:57 am
Was this for me? I also have a hard time with the little things more often than the big stuff, and YOU know how much I enjoy jumping up and down saying, "We are number one!" I know I would never be allowed to do that without The One who guides my steps and marks out the race I am to run.
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