Our Scripture for today is Psalms 118:24.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
That verse doesn’t say, “If things go well today, I will rejoice and be glad.” Any day that God has made for you is a day of rejoicing. That is what the verse says.
I admit, that this is sometimes hard. Some days are a challenge and you only smile when you look back. Sometime not even then.
When my first child was born, I had one of those days. When my wife and I brought the baby home, Liz was still struggling from the birth and everything was up to me. As we pulled up to our house, Liz said, “Carry Janet into the house.” I had never picked up a baby in my life. I certainly could not start now. I said, “Let me go get the neighbor next door and she will carry her in. Liz said, “No, you can do it.” Resigned to the first time I would carry a baby, I ran into the house and got a pillow. I came back to the car, put the pillow on my arms and had Liz put the baby on the pillow. I then carried the baby on the pillow into the house.
For the rest of the day, every time the baby cried, it was up to me to care for her. At least I knew what to do. Every time Baby Janet cried, I gave her a bottle. Every time!
By ten that night, I had a sick baby that I did not know how to help. I did the only thing I knew to do: I called my mother. She lived 600 miles away, but she drove all night.
That was a hard day and I did not think, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad.” It took decades before I could.
No matter what this day or even tomorrow brings, there is joy in it. Someday we will find the joy. The greater our faith, the sooner we will find it.
Lonnie Davis