Blog
Today is Special
How was your day?
Most of us answer that question reflexively, and usually, that answer depends on what has happened to us over the last few hours.
Maybe we received a parking ticket– “Ahh, not so good.”
Maybe you received a promotion at work– “Today is great!”
Overall most days are just like other days. In fact, most days are a little bit of both. The same day you get into a fender bender at a stoplight might be the day when the barista says the coffee is on the house (truly the makings of a good day in my book.)
Maybe that’s why we spend so much time thinking about the future. One of the great luxuries of modern society is that we have a reasonable expectation of seeing great things happen in our lifetime. There were less than 10 years between Kennedy’s pledge before Rice university that we would go to the moon before the end of the decade and Neil Armstrong’s immortal utterance, “That’s one small step for man…”
It’s easy in times of seemingly endless prosperity and possibility to forget that each day is unique and a gift from God. When we live only for the milestones, the golden moments, and the goals, we forget that those things are built one day at a time. We talk about “one day” and “someday” without realizing how today fits in the overall picture of our lives. Even in the middle of great sadness and distress, the prophet Jeremiah rejoiced each morning to see the mercies of God. (lamentations 3:23) They were a reminder of the Lord’s faithfulness and the promise to restore the people.
Sometimes we let the fear of tomorrow keep us from seeing the care that God has for us each day. That’s truly a tragedy. We would do well to remember that in the same sermon in which Jesus taught us to look to God for our daily bread, He taught us that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).
At other times, we let the promise of tomorrow and the belief that we command our destiny stop us from honoring God as if he holds our lives within his hand. (James 4:14-17) The rich fool of Luke 12 comforted himself with the belief that his prosperity would sustain him for many years but was ultimately told he would not live through the night. It’s that recognition that life is brief that focuses our attention on man’s whole duty, which Solomon wrote of in Ecclesiastes 12. (13-14)
Goals are essential, but we must also see the value of today. We must recognize that today is both a stepping stone toward the future and a blessing all its own. The first will teach us discipline, the second gratitude.
The 118th psalm addresses both of these. After giving thanks to the Lord for his enduring faithfulness, the psalmist tells the reader that because of God’s lovingkindness, they should anticipate His deliverance from their enemies. He taught his reader to expect God’s faithfulness culminating in this thought
Psalms 118:19-24 Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD,
into which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me,
and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused
is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Even as he asks God to save him, the psalmist is confident in both the Lord’s ability and willingness to give him victory over his enemies. Ultimately, God’s faithfulness gives him reason to be glad in every day and every circumstance, To anticipate his salvation because God is righteous and the Lord is his salvation.
Let’s encourage each other to wake up every morning with gratitude and praise and go to sleep every night with thankfulness regardless of what success and setbacks the day held. And let us live every day to God’s glory, for it’s a day He has made.
–JB
