This morning in our small group meeting, I shared a scripture that has had such a powerful impact on my life. It seemed to resonate well with the ladies on the conference call, so I thought I would share it with you too.
Before I share the scripture, let me give you a bit of background.
Although I looked confident on the outside, 10 years ago I lived a lot of my life in disappointment and frustration. I was a single mother struggling in my relationships, in my health, and most of all in my self-confidence.
I looked at everyone else who seemed to have the perfect life and attributed their happiness to their circumstances.
“Well, of course they’re happy, they have money,” I used to think. Or, “If only I was that pretty, I would be happy too.”
I can’t remember how it happened, but I remember reading this simple scripture in Psalm 118:24:
“This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
The words that leaped off the page were even more simple. They were the words ‘is‘ and ‘will.’
This is the day
This ‘is‘ the day. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today–the present. THIS is ‘it,’ I thought–right now at this very second is ‘it’.
You see, I had lived so much of my life in regret that I was never able to focus on how God was blessing me in the present. I would constantly say things like, “If only I did this, or if only is said that.”
It’s impossible to focus on God and your problems at the same time–one will squeeze the other out. So at that moment, and every moment since then, I make it a practice to focus on what is happening in the present.
God gave us ‘this’ day so our assignment is to live today as a gift and not squander it wishing we were somewhere else or were like someone else.
We will rejoice and be glad in it
Then the word ‘will‘ jumped out out me. I thought, how can I rejoice given my circumstances? Then I realized that ‘will’ denoted a choice.
The scripture does not give us an option, it’s a directive. It does not say to rejoice when things are going well or when you feel like it; it tells us to rejoice today. This implies that it’s irregardless of our circumstances.
I can choose to rejoice despite what’s going on around me. Regardless of what’s happening in my life, I can choose to be happy.
Why? It’s because my hope is in God; my future is in God, and my happiness in found in God.
I learned that there is always something that we can rejoice and be glad in each and every day.
Waiting until you’re the perfect size; until you meet the perfect man; until your children start acting right or until your husband will support you, will keep you out of God’s presence.
Aren’t you tired of missing God because you’re worrying about your past mistakes or wishing for a future that may, or may never come? It’s time to meet God where He is–in ‘this’ present moment.
Starting today and everyday, begin to declare: “This IS the day that the Lord has made so I CHOOSE to rejoice right now, and be glad in it!
You got this my sisters (and enlightened brothers),
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