This Truly Is the Day That the Lord Has Made
This year, our Summer Sampler theme dovetails with our mentoring endeavors. As you know, by design is dedicated to fostering healthy spiritual mentoring relationships among the generations. As we seek to learn from each other, one concept that comes up frequently is the desire to learn from those before us and pass on our experience to those coming after. In this series, we will learn the hard-won lessons from women who have been walking with the Lord and have some wisdom to share. We hope that you’re blessed and enriched by their stories.
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This Truly Is the Day That the Lord Has Made
By Kimberly Mae Bergeron
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24
Doesn’t that make you smile; doesn’t that make you reflect on the goodness in your day, the goodness in your life? I can find lots of things that make me glad – good friends, good jobs, a great family, a good juicy hamburger (let’s get real here, you know it, too), and many more things that remind me that the Lord has made many wonderful days for us to rejoice in.
But do we say and feel that so easily on the not-so-good days?
Ever walk into church and hear the greeter say, “Welcome! This is the day that the Lord has made”? I remember many times walking into church and trying to avoid the greeter because often it didn’t feel like it was a God-made day to me.
Have you ever felt like that? Did I just see you start to nod your head? It’s not just me, right?
Losing a job, having a miscarriage, dealing with broken relationships – God couldn’t have made these trying days, could He?
What about the life-changing day my heart shattered and I had to call our children and tell them their dad died that morning of a heart attack? Certainly, this was not a day the Lord had made. What could anyone find to rejoice in?
Dear friend, this life-changing day changed my heart to one that wants to hear the beat of God’s heart all the time. I wanted to be deliberately so close to Him and tether myself to Him and His promises. Imagine climbing up on the Lord’s lap, putting your ear to His heart, and you hear it beat these words: “This. Is. The. Day. I have made. Rejoice. And be glad in it.”
The verses before Psalm 118:24 say this: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:22-24
Friends, this just stopped me in my tracks. My eyes have just shifted off myself, off my happy or unhappy circumstances to the cross that Jesus was nailed to. In Him is true hope, true contentment, true purpose for life through any circumstance. Christ was the stone who was rejected, yet He deliberately chose the circumstances of suffering for us. The Son of God, the Perfect Lord, took on our scum of dirty sins while suffering and hanging on the cross in order to be the author of eternal salvation for all those who repent, believe, and seek Him. Through His willing death on the cross, He became the cornerstone, the living foundation. His death, which brings life, shouts to us why we rejoice every day.
Oh! This day! This is the day He speaks of as His heart beats and I lean into Him. Yes, this is marvelous, and it is humbling.
He created all my days new, and He is always with me in that newness. When remembering His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, it brings trust. That His mercies are new every single morning brings peace. That He is perfect and that His plan is perfect brings contentment and hope, confidence, and – here it is – rejoicing!
Jesus knows life is not easy in this sinful world. The apostle Paul knew of suffering all too well and wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.” He repeated these words, wiping out our question of “Really, did you just say that?” Yes, he did.
Rejoicing is experiencing God’s grace and hope as we choose to delight in all the marvelous things He did for us and to delight in who He is every day.
This truly is the day that the Lord has made! So, let us rejoice and be glad in HIM!
Kimberly Bergeron describes herself as the perfectly imperfect woman whose desire is to see life through Jesus’ eyes. The sudden death of her husband has walked her through much suffering, yet she sees where God has placed His fingerprints throughout her life preparing her for this time. He fills her life with joy as she speaks of the goodness and kindness of Jesus. Her transparency, compassion and humor draws you in to want to know more.
Kimberly is also one of our featured speakers in the by design Speakers Directory. If you are looking for a Christian speaker for your special event, please visit our online directory or contact us to request a hard copy.