This life has trained most of us to either be looking toward a day yet to come or looking back at a moment that has already passed us by. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it can threaten to rob us of the moment or day that we are living in. Our minds and hopes are often ahead or behind rather than in the now.
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:25
It does not say yesterday was the day or tomorrow is the day (although they are) but it says THIS is the day. How can we rejoice in something that we aren’t allowing ourselves to experience or be embraced by?
In Christ, there really is no “average” day because every day is miraculous. Just to know that the sun has risen, the birds are singing, the wind is blowing and our lungs are breathing is miraculous. Today may be a day of joy or a day of pain— or just a day that you find God in the ordinary moments— but whatever the case, it is a day that the Lord has prepared for you and you should not miss it by living in yesterday or tomorrow.
The Christmas season is always an interesting time for me. While everyone else seems to be counting down the days until Christmas Day, I am trying to take in the beauty of each day and moment of the season. For me, Christmas is a season with days and days of wondrous things to experience rather than one day where gifts are given and received. What a wonderful gift to remember and focus upon our Savior’s birth for an entire season.
While some people spend most of their time dreaming and hoping for tomorrow— others spend their time worrying about tomorrow and reliving the pain of yesterday. When I am tempted to be drawn into the life-robbing dread that we call worry— I will stop myself and get back into the moment I am in and find God there. He holds our tomorrows in His hands and He will hold us in His hands when we get there. But today is where His mercy and grace abound. In the now— in this day.
So, whether today is a good day, an ordinary day, or a sad day— we can rejoice that God is in it and is with us. We can rejoice in Him because though the condition of days change— He never changes.
Have you ever thought about the fact that to experience an embrace you must be being embraced in that moment? You can’t actually experience yesterday’s embrace or tomorrow’s embrace— you must allow yourself to be present in the moment. To be held requires you to be present. God wants to embrace you right now but you must allow yourself to be in the moment to experience it. This very moment you are being held by eternal love, you are protected by the arms that hold all created things together, you are being given new mercies, and you are being carried into the next moment to come.
…your heavenly Father knows…” Matthew 6:32
What a comforting verse in the Bible— and one of my favorites. These words are found amid the verses that talk about worry, provision, and tomorrow. Right in the middle of it all, we receive a kiss of eternal confidence that says, “…your Heavenly Father knows.”
He doesn’t just know and not respond— He knows and has already responded. He has provided all that is needed for your next step or your next moment. He knows the hopes, the sorrows, the longings, the pain, the desires, and what is needed. He knows before you even ask. This is your embrace!
May these words wrap around you like a blanket or arms of love carrying you today. We rejoice in that “He knows.”
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This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Inscribe Ministries
Featured Image by Kaja Kadlecova on Unsplash
