[i]
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118: 24
We all had that beginning day—the day we were born. We count birthdays year by year. I just celebrated my 88th. Life’s true beginning, nevertheless, begin much earlier than the day we uttered that first cry announcing our arrival. Our beginning did not even happen at the time of our conception, nor did the amorous gleam in Mom and Dad’s eyes when they knew of their love for one another forge our beginnings. Everyone’s first day began at Creation, when God said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1: 26). There in God’s mind. A done deal. On a different calendar, however, your and my day of beginning is today.
Each morning when we wake up we have concerns that should form our plans for the day. We want to appreciate the day; we don’t want to worry about our needs; we want each day to give us a fresh perspective to accompany God’s mercies; we need to understand that life is fleeting.
Appreciating the day. Psalm 118: 24 (The verse at the top) is a good way to start: See the day as one God has brought us to enjoy and be glad to wake up. (Okay, after we get the grit out of our eyes and get adjusted to light—maybe a cup of coffee or a splash of cold water in our faces—then we can comprehend that facing a new day is definitely in our best interest. Today is our new day, “weather” or not.) Yes, God has brought us to a new day to enjoy Him and bring Him glory. What are ways to appreciate the day?
- Appreciate the creation: fresh air and sunshine, bird song, a glass of fresh water, a yawn, a stretch, a song running through your mind, or maybe that cup of tea or coffee.
- A time in God’s word to find out what He has to say about the day ahead. I’m always amazed when whatever is on my mind as I go to read the Bible, some verse sticks out to me as apropos to my thoughts
- Thanksgiving for God’s love and forgiveness, along with prayer and committing the day to His glory and the good of others
Not worrying about our needs: Sometimes we get needs and wants mixed up. Jesus said:
“Don’t have so little faith! Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Emphasis mine). Matthew 6: 31-34 NCV[ii]
God acknowledges that trouble follows us through our days, so we keep an open mind and heart for the day at hand and don’t borrow tomorrow’s troubles.
Hand those trials and troubles over to God as you wake up to the first day of your life … ahead.
A fresh perspective of God’s mercies: Jeremiah’s lamenting the terrible condition of the nation of Judah is brightened by hope in the dead center of his poem:
- Lamentations 3: 22-23 demonstrates that God’s mercies are greater than the ruthlessness, cruelty, and inhumanity of the worst this world can offer:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
- No matter how terrible the world about us may seem, God’s mercy is greater. We need to look at life through the lens of His mercy and love for us, not world conflicts, political battles, natural disasters, sensational media, or even conflict within the home. We need to understand that such evils are a result of the sin that entered the world on what might be termed “the day after” God made man in His image, the day our original parents decided to run the world differently. (The results are still going on!).
Cling to God’s mercies and face the first day of your life … ahead.
Understand that life if fleeting: James writes (James 4: 13-15) about making big plans without considering God’s plans for our lives.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
- You may say, “Wow! We’ll be so busy the next couple of months. We are going to the beach in August for a week with the family, then we come back for a week and close on the house. We are getting married the next week and going on our honeymoon, then we’re going to go visit family out west before we go to Europe for a vacation.” (I’m exhausted just writing that!)
- Life is fleeting. One perspective is to get in all we can while we can. The other perspective is to ask, “What can I do to demonstrate my love for God and my neighbor?” Indeed, God my want us to travel to see His wonderful creation and as a means to show His love to others. There is nothing sinful about such plans. Plans, however, need to reflect Jesus as viewed through the lens of His will.
- As we plan, we need to ask, “How will this glorify God and help me and others enjoy His love?”
Plan with God’s will in mind and heart for the first day of your life … ahead.
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Challenge: As you wake up tomorrow for the first day of your life going forward, anticipate His presence in your entire day to help you appreciate what He provides, to meet your needs, to give you fresh daily mercies, and to comprehend the fleeting nature of life. Make certain you truly belong to Him through Jesus’ death on the cross to atone for your sin, and resurrection to a new life.
Prayer: Thank You, Father in heaven, for the day ahead. Help me make this first new day beautiful to honor you and a blessing to others. Because of Jesus and in His name, Amen.
[i] https://www.lifeway.cc/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/day-1.jpg
[ii] Matthew 6 NCV – Jesus Teaches About Giving – “Be – Bible Gateway
