This Day
- Richard Selke
- Apr 15
- 4 min read
Updated: May 11
April 16, 2025
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Our granddaughter, Annabelle, who was four years old at the time, had spent the night with us. As Susan and I greeted her the next morning, I asked, “Good morning, Annabelle. Do you know what day it is?”
Expecting her to say, “Saturday” or “I don’t know,” she smiled joyfully and declared, “This is the day the Lord has made!”
“That’s right!” I said, “Good answer!”
I was delighted to hear those words from this child who, at just four years old, was quoting scripture! “This is the day that the Lord has made.” Psalm 118:24a, ESV. I guess St. Luke’s preschool was doing a good job!
As we get older, our memories grow – both sweet and painful. As we carry the weight of past mistakes and cares, faults and blunders, missed opportunities, aches and pains, and as we build our bucket lists of all of the things we still want to experience, it’s easy to lose sight of the present – this day.
C. S. Lewis wrote, “The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.” That’s true. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has yet to arrive. God gives us this day to receive His grace, walk in His love and rejoice in His presence.
The full scripture verse that Annabelle reminded us of says: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, ESV.
Why rejoice? Because God is with us this day. Because He loves us this day. Because He invites us to walk with Him this day.
Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love … I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:9,11, NIV
Joy isn’t just a passing emotion. It’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and a command from God: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4, NIV
Octavius Winslow, a nineteenth-century preacher, said, “The believer in Jesus is essentially a happy man. The child of God is, from necessity, a joyful man. His sins are forgiven, his soul is justified, his person is adopted, his trials are blessings, his conflicts are victories, his death is immortality, his future is a heaven of inconceivable, unthought-of, untold, and endless blessedness. With such a God, such a Savior, and such a hope, is he not, ought he not, to be a joyful man?”
When was the last time you were joyful. For some of us, it’s been a while. If joy feels distant today, you’re not alone. But you don’t have to stay there.
Here’s a suggestion: Start each day with these words: “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Say it with your lips and let it settle in your heart. Say it by faith and ask the Holy Spirit to fill your day – this day – with joy.
Try it. It may change your perspective. It might even change your life!
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, this is the day that the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it!
QUESTION
When was the last time you were joyful? If not this day, it’s been too long!!!
PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of this day. Thank You, that no matter what happened yesterday, nor what tomorrow may bring, You are with us right now – loving us, guiding us and inviting us into Your joy. Help us to release our regrets and worries, and to receive the grace You offer us today. May Your joy be in us and our joy be complete. Teach us to live this day fully, faithfully, and joyfully - walking with You, trusting in You, and giving thanks to You.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, ESV
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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