By David ReayFriday 17 Jul 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Psalm 118:24
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. (ESV)
Very few of us actually bound out of bed each morning shouting out this verse. In our sleep-saturated fog we are more inclined to wonder just what day it is before rejoicing in it. And yet, having this verse at hand on our bedside table might just change how we live that day.
The psalmist is always a realist, never going in for some cheap bit of positive thinking. He is well aware of human trouble. But he is also well aware of God’s faithfulness. He isn’t suggesting that the day ahead will be a breeze, or that problems will miraculously melt away. He is rather saying that whatever the day holds (and we don’t know that in advance) it is a gift from God. It is God’s day. Not all that happens in that day will be good, but a good God is walking with us in that day.
It is a day we have never had before and will never have again. It is a day full of opportunities to discover more of the love of God, maybe especially so if it is a day fraught with challenges. Each day is something of a sacred space in which we discern the movements of God and align ourselves to them.
Because of this we can rejoice and be glad. The ground of our glad rejoicing is not in the promise of a trouble-free day but in the promise of a fresh journey towards our daily companion, Jesus. The gift of each day is not the circumstances of the day but the presence of God in that day.
Blessings
David Reay