This Day
Do you remember the day you got your driver’s license? What about your first day on the job, your graduation day or when you met your soulmate? Some days, like your wedding day or the days your children were born, are impossible to forget; some you wish you could. Not every day is fun. Yet each day– good or bad–is a gift from God.
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118: 24).
Each day is as God designs it. All are designed for good because God is good. “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning – the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). The sixth day, and all that He had made, every day, was good. Even the days that make us wonder if God is paying attention or if He even cares–God has put good in them all.
“Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Yeah, OK, driver’s license, graduation, birthdays–we can rejoice in them. But, then there’s the not-much-to-talk-about days and the nothing-to-be-glad-about days. It’s not always easy to find, but God has put good in them all. It’s easier to see the good when we look back, but we’re supposed to rejoice while we are right in the middle of it – “rejoice and be glad IN it.” Those who loved Jesus couldn’t see what was coming as they watched Him die on the cross. They couldn’t see an empty tomb. They couldn’t see the resurrection, the birth of the church or the miracles they would perform with their own hands, but God could. To them, it was the worst day ever. To God, it was the best.
The point of the verse isn’t for us to shout, “Hallelujah!,” in the midst of tragedy. The point is whatever this day brings, it is the day that the Lord has made. It has value and purpose because God Almighty made it. That is reason enough to rejoice and be glad in it. So, if this is a good day, don’t neglect to thank God for it. If it’s not, thank Him, believing He has put good in this day as well.