This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Lord, save us!  Lord, please grant us success!  He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed.  From the house of the Lord we bless you.  The Lord is God and has given us light.  Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.  You are my God, and I will give you thanks.  You are my God;  I will exalt You.  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.  Psalm 118:24-29  HCSB

A couple days ago I had the pleasure of bringing my 6 year old niece (she’ll be 7 in two days) to my in-laws for dinner.  It’s a 20 minute ride and she spent most of the ride lamenting about how horrible her life is right now.  You see her best friend moved away and they have lost contact and it seems as though one of her other friends has become extremely rude, so she doesn’t want to associate with her anymore.  Then to top it all off another friend is way too bossy, which is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, just sayin’.  Now I reminded her that God has good plans for us and even when things aren’t going well that God is working all of this out for our good.  She assured me that she knew this, she just didn’t like her life right now.  Did I mention that she has a flare for drama?

You may be amused that this six (almost 7) year old is so dramatic about what seems to be minor problems, but how many of us so called adults do the same thing?  You see all of our problems are minor to God.  There is nothing that he cannot handle.  Matthew 19:26 tells us that all things are possible with God.

This Psalm is written by David.  If you have read about David in the Bible, you know that God blessed him and was with him throughout his life.  God protected him and made him victorious when he went against the giant, Goliath.  God also made him a mighty warrior that slayed thousands of Philistines.  He went on to become king.  Now you may be saying, well of course David rejoiced and was glad, God was good to him.  Yes God was good to him, but David also went through years of hard times and struggle.  The king before him had some serious mental issues and loved David one minute and was trying to kill him the next.  David spent years on the run from him.  David fell into sin and ended up committing adultery and murder.  He cried out to God for forgiveness.  God forgave him but took the son that was born of his adulterous affair.  God also told him that the sword would never leave his house.  David’s children fought against each other.  His son raped his daughter.  Another son killed the one that raped the daughter and one of David’s sons even conspired to kill him.  So you see, his life wasn’t a bed of roses.  But one thing David always did was trust God.  David didn’t focus on the negative things in his life, he focused on God.  He followed God’s instruction and walked in God’s ways.

We can’t focus on the negative in our lives and the positive at the same time.  If we are focusing on God and the good things he does for us, we have no time to focus on the negative things.

Yesterday, the television showed us President George H. W. Bush being transported from Texas to the capital.  As I watched the military pall bearers transport the casket from the hearse to the airplane, I was tearful.  Not because I knew or had some close relationship with him, but because I identified with his family.  I thought about the time 5 and 1/2 years ago when I lost my dad.  I thought about how much I missed him being in my life.  Now at this point, I could have remained sad and focused on how horrible my life has been without my dad in it, but I can’t do that.  I can’t do that because that would be selfish.  You see my dad was saved.  He got saved 5 years before he passed away.  He is now in heaven with our heavenly Father.  He is healed from all of his infirmities and he is living the good life.  So no, I can’t curl up in his lap when I am sad and hurting.  I can’t give him a hug.  I can’t discuss differing opinions (we had a lot of those).  But I can rejoice.  I can praise God for his salvation.  I can praise God for his healing and I can be happy in knowing that I will see him again.

So today, where is your focus.  If your focus is on God and all the good things He does for you, then good for you.  But if you are focusing on every negative thing that comes your way, stop it.  That’s the devil trying to ruin your day. God intends for us to have peace and joy in our lives.  We cannot do this if we focus on our problems.

This day may not be all that I wish it would be, but it is the day that God has laid out for me.  Everything that happens today has a purpose and it is all designed to work for my good as long as I love the Lord and do the work that He has called me to do.  I have learned that if I am busy doing that, I really don’t have time to think about the negative things in my life.  It’s neat how that works, huh?

As you go through this day and every day, begin with prayer.  Commit each day to the Lord.  Thank Him for the day and whatever is in it.  Know that even the bad things have a purpose, even if it is just to test us or to help us grow.  Whatever the circumstances remember that the Lord made this day and we should rejoice and be glad in it.  When we are glad it lets God know that we trust in Him even when things don’t go as we had hoped or planned.  It lets the devil know that we are not going to allow him to steal our joy.  So rejoice and be glad!

Have a great day!