July 11th
Glad In It
Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Not all days are the same, some are better than others. One day may be the best day of your life and the next absolutely the worst day you have ever experienced. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A day is what you make it. It all depends on your reaction to the events of the day. Even though the day might be filled with bad things it doesn’t have to be a bad day. In our text we recognize two truths. First God makes the day and second, we make something of the day. It was on the very first day of creation, that God “called the light day and the darkness he called night” (Gen 1:4). This was the beginning of a continuous unbroken succession of days that have lasted for thousands upon thousands of years. God is the one who created the first day and it is God who continues to make every other day. By His power and plan the earth rotates on its axis creating each successive day. By His power and plan the sun rises in the east to usher in a new day and sets in the west to end that day. By His power and plan He keeps this terrestrial sphere we called earth in motion to control the day and night cycle. At any moment God can choose to cease His constant control of this cycle and the days on earth would be done, but for now, this is the day that the Lord has made! So, the Lord makes the day, but the verse continues with an affirmation for us to make something of the day He has made. The Psalmist says, “Let us rejoice and be glad in it. He sets forth his desire for God’s Day. He sees it is the day that God has made and he is determined and dedicated to rejoice and be glad in it. But the problem is that not everything in our day leads us to rejoice and be glad. Some events and encounters during the day can cause heartache, hurt, and pain. They are not things in which we typically find joy or foster gladness. Thus, the writer admonishes us to decide to rejoice and be glad even in the midst of those days that repulse joy and repel gladness. He chooses to make something of the day. He determines to rejoice and be glad even when there is nothing in his dark and dismal day to rejoice and be glad about. You see, God gives us the gift of a new day every morning. He gives us a blank slate to write upon. We don’t know what our day holds, but we know who holds us throughout our day. That is reason enough to rejoice and be glad. God gives us a day and we decide how the day goes. When someone criticizes us or cuts us down, we decide whether we will rejoice and be glad. When the day doesn’t go as we had planned, we decide whether we will rejoice and be glad. When we are mistreated and misrepresented, we choose whether we will rejoice and be glad. The Psalmist determined that no matter the direction his day went, he would rejoice and be glad in it. He challenges us to do the same, every day! God made this day, but we decide what to make of it.
Thank God that you have been given the gift of this day. Ask Him to help you, no matter what happens during the day, to rejoice and be glad in it. Thank Him that if this is His day, and as such, He will be in it and we can rejoice and be glad in it. Ask Him to help you make something out of the day He has made.
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