This is the Day

"We tend to take all the gifts and pleasures and happiness and the joy without saying much to God. We take our health and strength, our food and clothing and our loved ones, all for granted; but the moment anything goes wrong we start grumbling and complaining and we say 'Why should God do this to me, why should this happen to me?' How slow we are to thank and swift to grumble."

~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

I was part of a small group this fall and we studied the passage in John 15 Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The topic of the study was abiding in Christ so He can bear fruit through us.

Yesterday, I concluded the class by bringing in a special treat for the women and we had a time of discussion and fellowship. One of the things I did was read Psalm 115-118 as that would have been the concluding hymn that Jesus and His disciples sang at the Passover supper.

There is a verse in there in Psalm 118 that is familiar to most:

"This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Jesus sang this hymn, knowing that that His very next act was His death. As I read these Psalms in view of that it was hard not to get choked up at the beauty and meaning behind this.

It's so easy to give thanks or even take things for granted when all is going our way. It's a lot hard to give thanks when we are struggling. I want to do that, though it certainly is not easy. Which is why I need to stay rooted and abiding in Christ. He gives me the strength to say that because there is nothing I am going through that He hasn't experienced. My abiding allows Him to work through me and produce the fruit.

Today is the day I look back and thank the Lord for his blessings. I want to be able to thank Him no matter what happens. I want to make the choice to say, "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

This week I'm thankful for the following.

💓 Beautiful weather for most of the week that allowed me to get out and walk.

💓 A date night with my husband. A gentleman in our church produced a play at the local community college so we headed there to see it. It was very well done and enjoyable.

💓 Knowing my family will all be together for Thanksgiving.

💓 My daughter was offered a job as a Counselor in an agency where she lives beginning in January after she is done with her internship. We are very proud of her.

💓 I'm thankful for the writing and speaking opportunities that are coming my way.

💓 I'm thankful for the children's event I organized on Saturday. It's been slow growth in this area but we had two new little ones on Saturday and a good-sized group of children in church on Sunday. We made Thanksgiving turkeys on Saturday (so cute).

💓 I'm thankful for being able to bless my family by making the holidays special for them.

💓 I'm thankful for a wonderful group of women at church and the encouragement we receive from one another.

💓 I'm thankful for the wonderful turnout in church yesterday and then for our annual pie social and congregational meeting afterwards.

💓 In many ways it was a hard week as I struggled with some things, but I'm thankful that no matter what I deal with the Lord is walking with me through it. He is working through the struggles to sift and refine me and develop character within me.

I am blessed.