Friday, October 30, 2015

Today
By Peggy Kleckner

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Today is a new day: a one-of-a-kind. There will never be another one like it. It is unique, and it is a gift from our sovereign God.

Have you declared this verse over your day? I know that you, like me, have probably already weighed your new day out on your own scale. You have viewed it from your own perspective. If it is raining and that doesn’t fit into your idea of a “good” day, you have labeled the rain “bad” and perhaps the day “bad,” as well. If you feel prepared, it is “good” day. If you feel weak, it is “bad.” Have you considered that these are your  labels?

“This is the day the Lord has made.”  These words alone should encourage us. We know the One who made this day! We can, and should, make the choice to actually plan on rejoicing and being glad in this day. I must choose to look for Him in my day.

I love that the verse says “we.” This reminds me to enter my day with Jesus…as well as with others.

If I am going to choose to rejoice, where do I start? Where do you look when you are in chaos?  How can you see when the days seem overwhelming? Start by asking God Himself to open your eyes.  Even if you have to come to Him with a bad attitude, open your mouth and ask Him to open your eyes to the smallest glimmers of His goodness in this day. Next, start watching and praising.

Where have you seen His provision in your day? Look past the one answer you are continuing to look for and actively look for all of the other ways that He is providing, and praise Him for those. Where have you seen His kindness displayed? Perhaps in a sales clerk, in a woman at work, in your spouse? Who has displayed His patience? What or who reveals His caring nature to you? What remembrance from your past helps to stir up hope in this day?

You may need a friend to help you “see” Him in your darkest days. Let someone in to help. I am sure that God has placed people in your life who are willing to walk with you.

What instruction, what encouragement, what is it that God is trying to help you see in this gift of today?

GOING DEEPER:
1.  What circumstance has you so consumed that you are missing God’s goodness in this day?
2.  Can you declare God’s goodness even when you cannot see Him or feel His nearness?

FURTHER READING:

Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and she is an active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.