Today Is the Day That Our Lord Has Made

"This is the day which the LORD has made," says the Bible (Ps. 118:24, NASB). "Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Reading the whole of Psalm 118 reveals that the context of this famous quote is the celebration of victory after a hard-fought battle. Probably the reason so many of us are reluctant to celebrate each day as God's gift is that all we look at are the battles. If we take the psalm as a guide to daily living, its recommended approach is: start the morning with praise and thanksgiving; then ask God confidently for help and support in the day's coming struggles; and you will be able to fight those struggles "in the name of the LORD" and end the day thanking Him for the great things He has done for and through you.  

True joy does not mean merely savoring the easy blessings. It means trusting that God is in control and that the best possible blessings are on their way. 

Today is the day that our Lord has made:
Let us fill up our hearts with His joy;
He has made us all new by the power of His love,
Bringing peace that no foe can destroy.

Today is the day that our Lord has made:
Let us all of His blessings review;
He has filled up our lives with the gifts of His love,
And each morning His mercies are new.

Today is the day that our Lord has made:
Let us ever rejoice in His love;
Not the woes of this world, nor the demons of hell,
Can keep back His great gifts from above.

Today is the day that our Lord has made:
Let us stand in His strength and rejoice:
He's preparing a place, in a Day yet to come,
For all souls that give ear to His voice.

A Perfect Day

A frequently heard suggestion for "living right" is to start each morning by saying out loud, "This is going to be a wonderful day." Not bad advice, really, unless you demand that "wonderful" include every tiny aspect of said day. Those of us with perfectionist tendencies can get surly even about inarguably good things, if they don't fit our prewritten "scripts." ("What's the big idea serving gourmet cheesecake when I had my heart set on a chocolate chip cookie?")

Probably a better saying for Christians to start their days with is the Bible verse "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. 118:24, NIV, 1984 edition). But many of those to whom this verse is familiar have probably never read it in context. Psalm 118 as a whole is no idyllic pastoral meditation, but sets a scene of "anguish," hard battles, and severe "chastening." The writer rejoices because God delivered him out of trouble, even from near death. He never complains because God didn't stop things from going that far.

There's someone from whom those inclined to grumble over traffic jams could take a lesson.

Do you hope this will be a perfect day?
Has there ever been such a thing?
Does not every day in this fallen world
At least one disappointment bring?
Are you tempted to find some tiny flaw
And to let it ruin all the rest
Of your day? Do you curse the smallest pain
For disturbing your "perfect" quest?

Even Christ Himself, when He walked on earth,
Knew frustration and stress and strain, 
And He did not come to remove all such,
But to show us where loss is gain.
When we walk with Him, He will give us strength
To be faithful, and watch and pray,
Till we all stand pure, at the end of time,
In our God's endless, perfect Day!