“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad
in it.” (Ps 118: 24) We sing the song, don’t we? Yet we sometimes
don’t think of the context. It seems that the scripture was written of
a particular day (or if we were to quibble over words, the statement is
made of a particular age). The prophetic context seems to refer to the
Christian age, the time that “The stone which the builders refused is
become the head stone of the corner.” (Ps 118: 22) Simply stated, the
day that is spoken of in Ps 118: 24 is now. Certainly of all people, we
who are God’s children have cause to rejoice. Christians have even been
known to take pleasure in infirmities (2 Cor 12: 10) All of this is
made possible by our relationship to God and each other in Christ.
Wonderful to say, yet sometimes I have trouble rejoicing. And the
answer to many of my troubles is right there in Ps 118: 24.
“This is the day that the Lord hath made.” The statement is timeless.
Isn’t it? Isn’t this statement true for each day? Yesterday was the
day, but is no more. Only God knows whether or not tomorrow will ever
be the day. This is the day the Lord has made, today.
Everything that is important hangs on what happens to me and with me
today. If I am to obey God, I must obey him today. If I’m to encourage
someone I must do it today. If I am to rejoice, it must be done today.
Everything I’ve ever accomplished in my whole life was done on one
particular day, today. I have never been able to go back and fix
yesterday. Any corrections to yesterday’s mistakes have always needed
to be made today. Jesus once said, “No man, having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9: 62)
The main application for looking back is to long or desire for my old
way of life. I believe that looking back on yesterday’s regrets is just
as valid as an application. When we worry too much over the events of
the past, it’s not necessarily sinful, but it’s an additional weight
that so easily besets us. (Heb 12: 1 cf.) I guess that I need to learn
not to let yesterday’s setbacks rob me of today’s rejoicing.
Even if I let go of yesterday’s setbacks, I’m still not out of the
woods. I still have tomorrow’s troubles to worry about. Again, Jesus
said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall
take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.” (Mt 6: 34) To paraphrase, Jesus said that I’ll have all
the trouble that I need today. There won’t be any need to borrow from
tomorrow, or save up from yesterday. Today’s trouble will be
sufficient. Since I don’t have to worry about running out of trouble
today, I mustn’t let tomorrow’s worry rob me of today’s joy.
Here’s the tough part. Even if I succeed in letting yesterday die, even
if I can stop trying to bring tomorrow into the world prematurely, what
about today’s trouble? Remember that Jesus said
I would have sufficient trouble. How am
I to rejoice in spite of today’s trouble? I’m not sure that I have an
answer, but let me take a stab at it. I wonder, since each day has and
has had sufficient trouble, why have so many days passed that I didn’t
notice any? Each day of my life has had some sort of trouble, yet some
troubles have passed by unnoticed. I confess that sometimes it’s the
size of the troubles that makes the difference. Also, I notice that the
size of a problem matters less as I mature in Christ. In spite of
today’s trouble, how am I to rejoice and be glad in today?
Consider our text. If this is the day that the Lord hath made, then
whose day is it? It’s the Lord’s of course. Everything belongs to the
Lord, even today. Today is the Lord’s, and as his child this is great
comfort to me. He was keeping careful watch over me yesterday, and
whatever happens today, He still watches. When Jesus was speaking of
all of the things that seem to worry us, he concluded with this point
“But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be
added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Lk 12: 31&32) I am to seek the
kingdom all right, but I am to seek it recognizing that God was pleased
to give it to me (us). He wasn’t looking for an excuse to exclude me
from His kingdom. Neither is He expectantly awaiting some mistake on my
part so that He might void the deal. When I gave my life to the Lord,
he was pleased to give me a part in His kingdom. If indeed anything
would bring the Lord unhappiness, it would be for me to lose that which
he gladly gave. If He gave me even His kingdom, how much more pleased
is He to give me the things that pertain to life here? If God is for
us, who can stand against us? As I think back over my life, the most
troublesome days, were days that I forgot belonged to God. This is the
day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. It’s the
only one we have.
