It's a new day baby...

"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. This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made."


As a child, this song (taken from Psalm 118:24) was commonly sung by my mother to me as I woke up each morning. I carried on the tradition for my children when they were younger and still occasionally when I'm in a super good mood in the morning and it's obvious that they're not wanting to get up. (It's borderline exasperation - see Ephesians 6:4 on Bible Gateway. Forgive me Lord.)

I've always loved this song. For me it's a reminder that each and every day is a new opportunity. Sometimes we can get really bogged down with all of the mess we create or perhaps inherit each day. At the end of the day life can feel overwhelming and insurmountable. It's safe to say that our "rejoicing" can be almost nil by the end of the day. We pillow our heads at night and our minds run rampant with all of the junk we've had to deal with throughout the day. We're tired, we're worn out, we have nothing left to give. Darkness sets in and our emotions get the best of us. We're headed towards hopelessness and despair. We manage to close our eyes long enough to get the minimal amount of sleep required to function. 

Suddenly there is a crack of light. We're slowly ushered back into consciousness (and sometimes not so slowly if we have young children or an obnoxious alarm clock). As our eyes open we feel borderline refreshed, our perspective has changed, perhaps only slightly but still changed. As we lay in our bed for just a few moments longer we rehearse the day to come, the tough conversations, the long hours that will ensue, the tiny people we're responsible to feed and clothe. If we're not careful, we can quickly return to our feelings of being overwhelmed and outmatched. 

Allow me to encourage you in those moments to remember that this is the day that Lord has made. You can rejoice and be glad in it. You can rejoice and be glad in it because you are alive. You can rejoice and be glad in it because you've been offered another chance to impact someone else's life. Maybe that's your kid, maybe that's a co-worker or a neighbor, but you've been given this opportunity for a reason. You can rejoice and be glad in it because you have a fresh start. Yesterday is gone, today is a new day. Yesterday's sins are forgiven. Yesterday's misses are gone. Yesterday's "Well I should have..." are today's "I'm going to..." Today is a new day. You've been granted this day for a reason. Go conquer it. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. 

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