Fashioned by His Hands

This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (New King James Version)

An email to a friend last night revealed disappointment and discontentment. Not with her but with the way things weren’t. I was begrudging the fact that the people I want in my life aren’t. For one reason or another, they are no longer involved. I no sooner sent the email when God began to speak to my heart about that issue and my attitude toward it. He challenged me with the question, “What if I chose to live each day with anticipation and expectation of what He had for me?” This meant approaching each day with an eagerness to see who God would cross my path with and what experiences He would bring into THAT day. Wishing for and wanting what is not mine, robs me of the joy and rejoicing that would be mine if I chose it.

I went to sleep with that thought on my mind and this morning I was awakened with the words of Psalm 118:24. Today is a day God has fashioned. Just like He created the world, He has made THIS day. He has put His time, energy, love, and creativity into each part. Today has been designed with care, not just randomly thrown together. Within this day will be opportunities to minister to others as well as be ministered to. I don’t want to miss any of it! I don’t want to continue sacrificing the day on my own altar of wishes, wants, and longings. I want to cultivate a heart of contentment, satisfaction, and rejoicing in the day with which God gifts me. That is only possible as I begin to live in the NOW and to practice His presence TODAY!

While the molding of this day is God’s doing, the rejoicing and being glad involves my will. It is a conscious decision I must make and a choice I must embrace. The wonderful part is that even when it is difficult, He is willing to give me the grace to rejoice! He can help me enter this day with wide open eyes of wonder and amazement. He has beauty, surprises, and treasures just waiting to be seen and discovered. How His heart must ache when I miss them due to wrong focus or desires. This is not meant to be just an ordinary day, although it may be filled with ordinary moments. It is meant to be an extraordinary day because it has been designed by an extraordinary God!

Do I still miss the people I was thinking of last night? Yes! Do I still wish they were a part of my life and journey? Absolutely! But God’s ways are higher than my ways and my heart is resting in that truth today!

Father, I confess to You my covetousness and discontentment. How You long for me to receive the gift You have prepared for me in this day! May there be no more missing of any moments. Amen.