Rejoice? Today, Lord?

Becky
14 minutes ago
3 min read

Slippery with dish soap, I dropped one of the mugs we received for our wedding. It broke when it hit the sink. Looking at the broken mug caused me to pause before placing it in the recycling basket.

The verse on it is familiar, Psalm 118:24.

"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (ESV)

Even in its broken state, the mug stated the truth. God made today. We can rejoice and be glad in it. When I'm broken, do I remain in the truth? Do I dwell with my Father and rejoice in Him?

I sipped tea from the matching mug, "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

It is easier to rejoice in a day where only the good things seem to be happening. Yesterday, just a few hours after breaking the mug, my close friend shared her heart and we wept. Rejoice? Today, Lord? You'll have to help me because the tears keep coming.

Our circumstances can be so broken that we feel we will also break. The broken mug and the one holding tea made the same declaration. God made today. Let's choose to rejoice. Will I? Even when I hear news that makes me weep, will I trust God and rejoice in Him?

Joy is deeper than happiness. It is found in confidence of Who God is not in the things we see around us, our circumstances.

The word circumstances has the Latin word "circum" in it. It is also in circumnavigate (to sail around), circumvent (to go around), and circumference (the distance around a circle). What is surrounding me today? News I heard yesterday that results in grief. The shared grief of a friend's loss. What is surrounding you today? You and the Lord know.

Is the Psalmist inviting me to only rejoice in what I consider good days, days where the things that surround me are not broken?

This is the day -whatever day, month, and year it is- that the LORD has made.

The focus is not on our circumstances, but on our God.

The circumstances around us and those we love, may cause us to laugh or weep. The weeping option has been happening a lot today and yesterday. "Thou tellest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle: Are they not in thy book?" (Psalm 56:8 KJV)

He sees our tears. He knows our sorrows. He was wounded for us. He died for us. He lives for us!

Painful circumstances may surround us, but our God surrounds His children.

Isaiah says,

"“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me.

Your children hasten back,

and those who laid you waste depart from you.

Lift up your eyes and look around;

all your children gather and come to you.

As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,

“you will wear them all as ornaments;

you will put them on, like a bride." (Isaiah 49:15-18 NIV)

If I can trust that God (Who is my ever present help in times of trouble) made today, that is enough. He is trustworthy. He is good. Broken, I will choose to rejoice in it.

A Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank You for choosing to make today. I do not understand the circumstances, but I trust You. Please help me continue to rejoice, knowing You are good. In Jesus' Name, Amen.