This Is The Day

Take a moment and pause from what you are doing. Take a look around you. Look for the handiwork of God on display. From where I sit I look out the window and the sky is blue. The temperatures are mild for mid-January. I can't see any clouds. There is an ever so slight breeze blowing the few remaining leaves clinging to trees and rebelling against fall and winter. It is a beautiful day to live.

Take another moment. Start counting your blessings. You will certainly name the beautiful and special people in your life. You will make note of the multiple choices of food you have to eat. You will also remind yourself of the place you call home. Take the chair you are sitting in now. Is is made of wood. Think about the craftsman who shaped that chair from pieces of wood. Are you in an office chair. Be grateful for the padding and the ability to recline when you need a break. Are you in a recliner. Be thankful for the comfort.

Can you see today? Don't take that blessing for granted. Are you able to walk? Thank God for your mobility? Can you breathe? Bless God for fresh air and each new breath. Can you read? Thank God for your education and those teachers or parents who taught you to read. Do you have clothing to wear and shoes for your feet? Thank God for warm clothes in the winter and lighter clothes for the summer season.

You have this day. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised. You have this day, January 14, 2016. Are you enjoying this day or trying to survive this day. God made this day and you for this day. His mercies are new and His faithfulness is great this day.

One gift we can all bring our God  today is to pause in the middle of this day or at the end of this day and be awed by Him and His power. I am not in anyway trying to diminish the truth many of you reading this are going through hard times. Even in hard times there can be reasons to rejoice and enjoy the day.

Even when alone we are not left alone by God. He is there. He is also here. He is hospitals and funeral homes. He is rehab/retirement centers. He is in the jungles of Africa as well as the urban jungles of New York, L.A., Houston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. He is rural towns like Cut and Shoot, Zavalla, Loop, an d Lufkin. He is there on this day. Rejoice we have His truth to guide us along the way. Rejoice for the gift of people God puts in our lives to help us along the way. Rejoice in this day for another chance to love, seek, serve and worship God.

What will you do with the remainder of this day? Who will you hug? Who will you encourage? Who will be the recipient of your prayer? Who will you spur on toward love and good works?

In what new ways will you experience God today? In what fresh ways will you express wonder and delight at the Creator of the heavens and the earth today? Will you pause and pray? Will you reflect and write a poem? Will you linger before Him and listen to worship music? Will you write down your thoughts in a journal? Will you walk slowly through the field,park,  across the classroom, around the office or in your home lost in the wonder of worship of a God bigger than you, your problems and your pain?

All of those things and much are possible this day. What will you do with remainder of this day?

Psalm 118:24 (NASB)
²⁴  This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.