When we woke up this morning, for most of us in the familiarity of our homes, doing the same chores, doing the same commute, basically following the same routine, it is easy to lose sight of an important fact – today is a day like no other. In today’s case, it is Friday but it is not a Friday we have seen before nor will we ever see it again. Every twenty-four hours God graciously gives us a clean “sheet of paper” on which to write, and it is up to you and me what and how we choose to write. For sure, on some days there will be different aggravations and temptations but in the final analysis, we alone determine our responses to the situations we face. In other words, we get to choose our attitudes.
Reaching for that first cup of hot beverage, listening to the news, checking our email, making that first phone call, or whatever else we do, all have their place. However, the greatest way to start any day is with the right attitude. In Psalm 118:24 David declares, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (KJV). Notice he chose to “rejoice and be glad in” today. From the moment we shake ourselves from our slumber and realize that we have been blessed to see another day, clothed in our right minds, there should be an attitude of praise and thanksgiving! Everything else is secondary because if we did not wake up then those things would not have mattered. When we stop and consider that many who went to bed last night did not make it through the night, we realize just how gracious God has been to us.
We did not wake up, nor do we wake up each morning, because of anything we did or because we are that special, but all because of His mercy. The prophet Jeremiah declared, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). As you go about your business today, it is my prayer that amidst the hustle and bustle of your day there will be a quiet place within from which will flow a steady stream of praise. A heart that is full of praise will not be easily distracted by much else. The added bonus is that the peace of God will stand guard over our hearts and minds thus making it a bit easier to deal with challenging situations (Philippians 4:6-7).
Today is the day that the LORD hath made; rejoice and be glad in it. If you are able to do that then at the end of the day, God willing, you will be pleasantly surprised at what you were able to “write” on the “sheet of paper” called “today.
