Every Day, The Lord's Day

18 This is the day which the LORD has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24 NASB

Made By God

This day, like all days previous and those in the future, is made by God; the day belongs to Him. He has a plan and purpose in what happens today; it is not random, it is not without design, it is not an unknown. He did not create the beginning of all things and determine the end only to allow the middle to continually spin without His guiding hand. He made it, so it is His alone. Neither today, nor any other day, belongs to any man or other spiritual being. It is easy for us to wake up and assume the day belongs to us, that it is "our time to shine." The human heart, deceitfully wicked as it is, naturally considers what the day will bring for its own pleasures. But as believers in Christ, we must turn our focus to what it is that He wants to do in us, during the day that fully belongs to Him.

The original Hebrew word that we translate as "made" can also be translated as "bring forth." Did you know that today was "brought forth" by the Creator of all things? Did you know that today didn't exist until He created it to be so? Did you also know that today was determined before the foundation of the world?

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. Psalms 139:16 NASB

That same Hebrew word can also be translated as "accomplish." What God has done in creating each new day, is fully accomplished in that day. This is a broken, fallen world, yet every day is fully complete in its creation; He has forgotten nothing, and He has left nothing undone. His day is complete, a work of His hands, made by the power of His spoken Word (Psalms 33:6). We must have faith in what He wills for each day, and we must believe that He will accomplish all He plans to do.

Let Us Rejoice

Since we also, having been born again, belong to Him, we are to rejoice. We can be assured that regardless of what happens during the day, the One who holds us, also holds and controls the day. Our rejoicing is not because the day may "lack trouble" or be "full of blessings," but it is because the One who loves us, made it. In Christ, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:31-39) and even if the day brings death, we will be with Him in Paradise (Luke 23:43)!

Let Us Be Glad

So then, our attitude should be one of gladness. The original Hebrew word we translate as gladness means “to brighten up.” It could also be translated as "joyful." Because He owns the day, our countenance should be brightened, and our outlook should be joyful and this is regardless of the circumstances which the day may contain. Lastly, if we find ourselves unable to “be glad” or find it impossible to consider our days as “brightened,” we must ask ourselves the following question: "are we rejoicing?” Our rejoicing is required to move us to gladness. Gladness of heart is not possible without first rejoicing in Him. Our eyes should be daily fixed on Him and if our attitude is one of grumbling and complaining, it will be impossible to “be glad.” Fear and despair also rob us of the ability to “be glad” but both of these attitudes meet their end when we rejoice.

So, I hope that we will wake up tomorrow and turn our eyes to Him, knowing that He made the day. Oh! That we would intentionally rejoice and be glad, not just with a shallow smile on the outside, but with a determination of heart to truly turn to His ownership of our lives as we acknowledge His ownership of the day.

God bless!

Matt