God Made This Very Day!

Unseasonally warm sunshine drew us outside for a walk around the neighborhood. We weren't alone. There were:

• squirrels scolding,
• birds chirping,
• trees bursting forth with pink and white buds, 
• daffodils in full bloom and 
• Daphne (must be Daphne!) releasing heavenly scents into the air. 
   

It's easy to rejoice on a day like this--to proclaim, 

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).

But what about days when drizzling rain drags you down, or snow piles stifle your plans, or hurricanes threaten your very existence? Is it easy to praise God then--to rejoice then?

And what about when you lose your job, your husband announces he wants a divorce, your child gets expelled from school, your dinner has burned for the third time this week, you are the subject of nasty rumors, your mother's health is rapidly deteriorating and you don't know what to do? You just don't know what to do!

Is praise your first response in hard times? If you're like me, probably not. Yet wouldn't it be great if, in the midst of everything, we could stop and thank God for giving us another day to hope and pray for His best?

Maybe on this very day, He will turn things around. For sure, on this very day, He is working for the good of those who love him. We can rejoice in that, can't we? We can be glad in that...right?

I'd like to make it my goal to rejoice in the Lord each and every day, no matter what my earthly circumstances look like. Will you join me?