Today
By Peggy Kleckner
“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24
(NIV)
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 is an
active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
