This IS the day!
My son Daniel got a headache at lunch last Tuesday. By that afternoon it was a full-blown fever. For the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday and Thursday, he was totally miserable. Temperature over 103. He just laid on the couch and felt terrible. You've been there. You understand. He was pitiful.
But on Friday morning, he woke up and his head did not feel hot. I took his temperature: 97.9. I screamed with joy. I started singing,
This is the day, this is the day
that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
and be glad in it, and be glad in it...
The rejuvenated Daniel and his sister Shelby joined in at the top of their lungs. (Four-year-old Shelby, my overly-social child, had suffered almost as much as her brother over the past three days. She may as well have been sick herself with no one to play with!)
The song is based on Psalm 118:24, which says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (HCSB). And I hope you've sung the song before; I bet you've heard the verse. I hope you had a reason to rejoice because it was "the day the Lord acted" (CEB).
Our day progressed like any normal day, only it wasn't normal because Daniel was well! We rejoiced when he was hungry. We rejoiced that he felt good enough to write his spelling words. We rejoiced when he did normal little-boy stuff, like building stuff and racing trains and hopping around.
A few hours later, though, I saw him on the couch. I felt his head; it was no longer cool. I took his temperature: it was back over 100. I stood there, shocked, and said, "Daniel, I am so sorry, but your fever is back." We all sat there looking at one another in stunned silence.
And that's when Shelby, with an I-know-exactly-what's-going-on-here look on her face, turned to me and said, "I guess this isn't the day."
(Good grief. I was not ready for the impromptu theology lesson!)
And though I don't blame a four-year-old for not understanding that God can still make a day even when that day stinks, I pondered later that night that most adults have the same mindset: God is good...as long as life is good.
They believe God loves them as long as they feel loved.
They think God hears their prayers when their prayers are answered as they asked.
They praise God when He makes their lives praiseworthy.
But what about the little boy who will never get better from his disease? The family whose daughter was just killed in a car wreck? The many people who are looking at death sooner rather than later? The countless people who are abused, neglected, bullied, hated, or enslaved all around the world?
Is this still the day for them?
Yes. It is still the day the Lord has made.
How is that? How can God be good when life is so bad?
Because His love endures forever (Psalm 107:1).
Because what He does is good (Psalm 119:68).
Because He is good to all (Psalm 145:9).
Because He stores up good things for those who fear Him (Psalm 31:19).
Because every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17).
Because we can taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8).
Because He works all things for good for those who love Him and live it (Romans 8:28). That doesn't mean that everything that happens to us is good. It means that good will come from it. Some day. Some how. If you know God and if you love Him and if you live it.
Those are three very big "ifs."
Because life is hard. Life often stinks. Life is painful and wretched and evil. And though we can know God and His goodness, this world is not His domain. Heaven is. And everything there is good. EVERYTHING. No tears, no crying, no anguish, no death (Revelation 21:4).
In heaven it's all good.
And on earth you can know He is good even when things are bad sometimes. And by faith you believe it will all be good in heaven, when you join Him there.
God always loves you. He forgives. He reveals His glory. He sent His Son to die on the cross so you could know Him. He sent His Spirit to reveal truth and teach you through His Word. He sent the Bible. He sent people who love you. He is almighty, He is all-knowing, and He made a way for you to know Him.
He is good.
THIS IS THE DAY.
Sing it!
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
Thanks to all of you who have subscribed! Please link to this or share it!!!
But on Friday morning, he woke up and his head did not feel hot. I took his temperature: 97.9. I screamed with joy. I started singing,
This is the day, this is the day
that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
and be glad in it, and be glad in it...
The rejuvenated Daniel and his sister Shelby joined in at the top of their lungs. (Four-year-old Shelby, my overly-social child, had suffered almost as much as her brother over the past three days. She may as well have been sick herself with no one to play with!)
The song is based on Psalm 118:24, which says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (HCSB). And I hope you've sung the song before; I bet you've heard the verse. I hope you had a reason to rejoice because it was "the day the Lord acted" (CEB).
Our day progressed like any normal day, only it wasn't normal because Daniel was well! We rejoiced when he was hungry. We rejoiced that he felt good enough to write his spelling words. We rejoiced when he did normal little-boy stuff, like building stuff and racing trains and hopping around.
A few hours later, though, I saw him on the couch. I felt his head; it was no longer cool. I took his temperature: it was back over 100. I stood there, shocked, and said, "Daniel, I am so sorry, but your fever is back." We all sat there looking at one another in stunned silence.
And that's when Shelby, with an I-know-exactly-what's-going-on-here look on her face, turned to me and said, "I guess this isn't the day."
(Good grief. I was not ready for the impromptu theology lesson!)
And though I don't blame a four-year-old for not understanding that God can still make a day even when that day stinks, I pondered later that night that most adults have the same mindset: God is good...as long as life is good.
They believe God loves them as long as they feel loved.
They think God hears their prayers when their prayers are answered as they asked.
They praise God when He makes their lives praiseworthy.
But what about the little boy who will never get better from his disease? The family whose daughter was just killed in a car wreck? The many people who are looking at death sooner rather than later? The countless people who are abused, neglected, bullied, hated, or enslaved all around the world?
Is this still the day for them?
Yes. It is still the day the Lord has made.
How is that? How can God be good when life is so bad?
Because His love endures forever (Psalm 107:1).
Because what He does is good (Psalm 119:68).
Because He is good to all (Psalm 145:9).
Because He stores up good things for those who fear Him (Psalm 31:19).
Because every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17).
Because we can taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8).
Because He works all things for good for those who love Him and live it (Romans 8:28). That doesn't mean that everything that happens to us is good. It means that good will come from it. Some day. Some how. If you know God and if you love Him and if you live it.
Those are three very big "ifs."
Because life is hard. Life often stinks. Life is painful and wretched and evil. And though we can know God and His goodness, this world is not His domain. Heaven is. And everything there is good. EVERYTHING. No tears, no crying, no anguish, no death (Revelation 21:4).
In heaven it's all good.
And on earth you can know He is good even when things are bad sometimes. And by faith you believe it will all be good in heaven, when you join Him there.
God always loves you. He forgives. He reveals His glory. He sent His Son to die on the cross so you could know Him. He sent His Spirit to reveal truth and teach you through His Word. He sent the Bible. He sent people who love you. He is almighty, He is all-knowing, and He made a way for you to know Him.
He is good.
THIS IS THE DAY.
Sing it!
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
Thanks to all of you who have subscribed! Please link to this or share it!!!
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