God’s mercies are new every morning, so today is a special day.
“Because of the Lord’s loving devotion we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” Lamentations 3:22,23
Despite whatever has gone before today and whatever may be waiting for you tomorrow, today is the day.
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
You can rejoice in this day because you lived to see it; and because God is with you in this day; and because God made this day for you.
This is also the first day of the rest of your life. This can be the day when you make a change for the better that you will celebrate for decades to come.
There are things I have added to my life or tweaked in my lifestyle that became long term habits for my good. That includes changes in diet, reading more of the Bible each day and praying longer, making more frequent contact with family and friends, humbling myself and dealing with things I have put off, starting daily or weekly routines to harvest my talents or earn more income, altering my sleep habits, getting back in touch with lost contacts, going back over things that are incomplete and deciding what to do with them, starting new projects, auditing my life and making adjustments.
Each of those things were started on a ‘today’ that God gave me. They happened because I took possession of a ‘today’, a day that the Lord had made, a day when I would take action and step into something new.
Today is that precious gift you didn’t have yesterday. You have a limited amount of time today, but that time is a gift to you, for you to harvest or waste.
However, before I guilt-trip you into flagellating yourself for wasting time, this may be the day you need to ‘come aside and rest’ (Mark 6:31) as Jesus told His disciples to do when things were quite hectic.
I like the way that verse is translated in the King James translation,
“And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” Mark 6:31
I joke that for some very driven people the only way they will ‘rest a while’ is to ‘come apart’ – coming apart at the seams.
So maybe the gift of today is for you to truly rest and cast all your cares on the Lord.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7
The most important thing you can do today is to locate and to express your faith in God. Think of the things that weigh on you today, in terms of things that have to be done, or problems that are heavy on your heart or mind, or dreams you see crumbling, or the like, and give those problems and cares to God. Then trust Him. Obey His promptings. Declare that you have confidence God has everything under control and determine to wait on Him, rather than be anxious or fearful. People who are right with God live every day in that kind of faith.
“In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from one moment of faith to another, as it is written, The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
Today is God’s gift to you and it may be a used for many different purposes. It may be for you to start something new, or get back to something you’ve neglected, or to rest in the Lord, trusting Him to have everything in control for you. It is certainly a day for you to live out in total faith in God in every situation.
Take some time to ask God what He wants you to do with this precious ‘today’.
This is His day, made by Him, but given to you. Ask Him how you can most wisely use this day for His glory, because ‘This is the Day that the Lord has made – and given to you!’