This is the day
“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”Psalm 118:24
Reflection
This verse is so well known that we risk passing by it without noticing. "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118 is a song of thanksgiving for deliverance, and verse 22, just before, speaks of the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone, a sentence the New Testament applies to Jesus. For this reason, Christians read this "day" also as the day of the resurrection, the day the Lord acted in a definitive way.
But the verse also speaks of today. Notice the demonstrative: "this is the day". Not yesterday, with its mistakes, nor tomorrow, with its uncertainties. The day that lies before us, with its tasks, conversations and surprises, is a day the Lord has made, a day in which He acts. This changes how we live it. Instead of treating it as an obstacle to cross, we can treat it as a gift to receive. Every morning is a new opportunity to see the hand of God.
And the response asked for is joy: "we will rejoice and be glad in it". Notice it is a collective decision, a "we". It does not say "feel glad", but "we will rejoice". It is a choice, and not merely a feeling that comes or does not come. This does not deny pain: there are hard days, and the psalm itself is born of a context of distress. But even on hard days there is something to rejoice in: the Lord is acting, even if we do not yet see how. Joy in the Lord does not depend on the day being easy.
Practice this: on waking, before anything else, say aloud: "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice in it." Then, during the day, look for one concrete thing to enjoy: a meal, a conversation, the sky, a song. Pause for a minute to notice it. When something goes wrong, repeat the sentence. Whoever lives this way discovers that days, one by one, cease to be mere stages and become gifts received with gratitude. And tomorrow, when you wake, it will again be "this is the day".
Prayer
Lord, thank You for this day You have made. Help me receive it as a gift, without clinging to yesterday or fretting over tomorrow. Fill my heart with joy in You, even when circumstances are hard. May I live today with eyes open to see Your hand. Amen.
Put it into practice
On waking, say aloud: "This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice in it." During the day, pause for a minute to enjoy one good thing on purpose.
To reflect on
What good thing about today could you consciously receive as a gift from God?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).