Thursday, April 11, 2013

This Is The Day


Tonight is our Cub Scout Pack’s Pinewood Derby. Our kids have been preparing for it as have the other kids in our Pack. Between 5:30 and 6:00 the kids will check in their cars and the racing will then start. Some cars will run well and some generally not so well. Some cars will look like their parents did every detail and some it will be obvious that the kids had the strongest hand. Some will rejoice in their performance and, from experience, there will even be some who are very disappointed.

As I thought about this upcoming event and all of the preparation to get ready for it, I thought how much this is a micro-picture of our lives. Each of us have days we look forward to with great excitement and days that are not so much. Each of us has days that turn out meeting our expectations and even exceeding them and days that go totally sideways or even worse.

I particularly watch at events like tonight how parents rejoice with their kids successes, how they encourage them in their struggles, and even comfort them in their disappointments. Today Sarah writes about today (as with every day), but today as the day before us, is the day the Lord has made. He has given it to us and He will sustain us through it with its bright spots and its dark ones. He is the author of our days and He is sovereign over every aspect. As such we are encouraged to trust Him to do His good work regardless of how it might look to us. Win or lose the heat, Scripture declares that we win the race. Therefore, we are to race to win the prize and find our joy in our God who holds that prize which is our glory for all eternity.

Today in “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (4/11)

This is the day that I have made. Rejoice and be glad in it. Begin the day with open hands of faith, ready to receive all that I am pouring into this brief portion of your life. Be careful not to complain about anything, even the weather, since I am the Author of your circumstances. The best way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them. This act of faith frees you from the resentment and frees Me to work My ways into the situation, so that good emerges from it.

To find Joy in this day, you must live within its boundaries. I knew what I was doing when I divided time into twenty-four-hour segments. I understand human frailty, and I know that you can bear the weight of only one day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow or get stuck in the past. There is abundant Life in My Presence today.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

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