THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  (Psalm 118:24). 

There is a well-known praise chorus that uses the words of Psalm 118 quoted above.  I have been reminded of this chorus on beautiful, sun-shiny mornings when it has seemed that all was right with the world, but I have never thought of it until recently in regards to the days when things just seem to fall apart. 

These words are usually the last thing on my mind when I wake up late for an appointment, spill milk all over the counter and floor, and run out to my car and find it won't start.  As my wife recently quipped, it's then that a day is like a thousand years with the Lord!  Oddly enough, though, this 118th Psalm isn't about the apparent blessings of life at all.  It is about the struggles and how God is ever faithful to bring His servants through them.  Listen to some of David's words in this Psalm.  They are not words of despair, but words of hope and praise.  He said:

·         "I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place."

·         "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?"

·         "All nations compassed me about...they compassed me about like bees...in the name of the LORD I will destroy them."

·         "Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me."

·         "The LORD hath chastened me sore: but He hath not given me over to death."

Job was a man who was righteous before the LORD, yet he fell into some very desperate trials in his life.  What was Job's response to these trials?  He said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."  (Job 13:15).

Paul and Silas were sent by the Holy Ghost to Philippi after Paul received a vision which urged them to go.  After arriving there, they found themselves cast into a dark dungeon and shackled with chains.  What was Paul's and Silas' response?  "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God."  (Acts 16:25).

These men realized that every day is a day which the LORD has made, and our response should always be to rejoice and be glad in it.  In this way, we will always be in a position to recognize the blessing in the storm.  Yes, some days may seem unbearable.  When tragedy strikes, or when we lose loved ones, it may be impossible to smile and be joyful; but it is then that we can "count it all joy" because we know that the trial of our faith is working something good in us that will make us stronger.

As I was driving to work one morning, the van that I owned at that time decided to stall out at one of the busiest intersections in the city at that particular time of the day.  I tried everything I knew to do to get it started and get it out of the intersection, but all to no avail.  Everyone else was trying to get to work on time, and I was a major hindrance to them.  They all had to go around me, and many gave me a very irritated glance as they went by.  I called my wife and asked her to come and jump my battery with our other car; and as I sat there waiting, the Lord spoke to my heart.  He let me know that there was nothing so important that it was worth getting upset and losing my peace about.  As I meditated quietly on His Word, I felt a peace rush over me; and I was able to rest in Him, trusting that He had everything under control. 

When my wife arrived with our other car, we were both in the street trying to jump the van when a taxi cab rolled beside us, the driver's window went down, and a lady who we knew but hadn't seen for years greeted us.  We exchanged a quick hello, and she drove off.  Later, however, after we had gotten home, and I was preparing to take the car into work, the same taxi pulled into our driveway, and that lady came to the door.  To our amazement, she said that when she saw us, my wife appeared to glow like an angel, and this lady was convicted of the sinful lifestyle that she had been following and wanted to talk about finding her way back to God.

Suddenly, the whole morning came into sharp clarity for me.  I realized that God had a plan from the beginning, and it involved my van breaking down, my being late for work, and my wife and I being at that intersection at that exact time in order to help our friend with a spiritual need.  Truly, that was a day which the LORD had made, and we were rejoicing and full of gladness in it.  To be sure, there are trials that we pass through in which God's purpose is veiled to us at first.  It may even take years for God's plan to become apparent, but never doubt that He is working.  We once had neighbors who had lived beside us for a couple of years before they showed much interest in Christianity.  When they did, the wife said, "You're going to think that I'm a window peeper, but I have watched your family since we moved in here and noticed how happy you all are all the time.  We want to know what you have that we don't."  Of course, we were glad to tell them!  Oh, to understand that every day is a gift from God, and if we will learn to rejoice in it, He can show us great and glorious things.