Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Getting Ready For The Day

PSALM 118:24 –This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

THEME OF THE DAY. GETTING READY FOR THE DAY. Every person has routines in their lives. We are truly creatures of habit. And it is good to have routines. They build discipline and help us accomplish things of necessity in life. Routines may also be bad, especially for Christians. For instance when it comes to reading our Bibles and prayer, if we routinely go to both out of a mindless routine instead of a desire to meet the Lord Jesus, we will produce a mechanical and lifeless spiritual walk. Another example of a routine gone wrong is on the Lord’s Day. Should our weekly attendance in church be one of mindless routine, then our church attendance lacks spirituality and has become stale religiosity. All spiritual routines, whether private or public, are to have one purpose – to fulfill a longing and thirst for Christ. Yes, it is fine to have a routine, but it is not fine to be routine. When it comes to our routines, they include one we execute each morning getting ready for our day. It doesn’t alter much. For sure, it will be different with each of us, but there are certain things we do every morning as we get ready for the day about to unfold.

In today’s scripture is an excellent truth to put into our daily routine, especially in the morning, before we enter into the battlefields of spiritual conflict. And yes, all of life – home, work, community, church . . . every environment is part of the spiritual battlefield in life under the sun. If we learn to put into our thinking the truth of today’s scripture as a regular part of our early morning preparation, we will go a long way in spiritually preparing for the battles we will face. Let’s break this verse down into two important applications to help us get the day off on the right foot.

First, the Lord has made our todays. Yes, I know I am stating the obvious. I mean, that is what the verse says, but extend it beyond the Lord making our day. He didn’t say, “Okay, I have given you this day. Go at it. Live it to the fullest.” God is not a clockmaker who creates and then sits back and leaves His creation alone, to include us. Not at all. He is an active and sovereign God in and over all things to include the events, circumstance, situations, trials, temptations, and everything else which will unfold in our todays. This is critical thinking if we are going to live for His glory with a submissive, non-complaining heart. There will be things that come into our lives today which we did not plan for. There will be tests and trials that, if not armed with the truth of God’s sovereignty over all things, will catch us off guard and tempt us to grumble and complain. Start the day remembering who made the day and is active in our lives throughout the day.

Another truth to make a regular part of our morning routine is commit to not be negative in our thinking no matter what happens throughout the day. The Psalmist proclaims, “Since this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” He makes a conscious decision; a deliberate act of his will to take pleasure in the Lord. How can he do that? Because he remembers his sovereign God who controls all things. Friends, worship is not driven by emotions, environment, or anything else. It begins and is sustained by an exercise of our renewed will to think on the God who is and controls all things. And one of the strongest pieces of armor to fight spiritual warfare is praise to the one true God. A decision to rejoice and be glad in the Lord will be a source of help enabling us to live above trying circumstances and situations.

So, as we go about our routines today, let’s pause and put something else into them – today’s scripture. It will radically empower our routines to be anything but routine.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to start my day acknowledging You and be spiritually prepared as my day unfolds.”

QUOTE: “God is sovereign over all things; not just our salvation but the working out of that salvation every day.”