Life verses #3 Psalm 118:24 RUMC

Life verses #3

Psalm 118:24

RUMC

There is a story about a women living with cancer. She made a choice: to live each day saying, “THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT”

The alarm clock would ring and she would jump out of bed and Say, “THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I CHOSE TO REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.” She would go about her day full of JOY.

One day she heard the alarm. She jumped out of bed and said, “THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I CHOSE TO REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.” She was smiling ear to ear as she looked into the mirror. She had 3 hairs remaining on her head. . She made the choice: I THINK I WILL BRAID MY HAIR. She got a lot of joy from her beautiful hairdo and the day the Lord made for her.

The next day she heard the alarm. She crawled out of bed a little slower and said, “THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I CHOSE TO REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.” She went in to the mirror to discover she had only 2 hairs left. She smiled and said, “I know what to do. I will part my hair down the middle.” AND SHE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY.

The next day, the alarm rang; she was thrilled to be alive. She got out of bed “THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I CHOSE TO REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.” She walked over to the mirror and found that day she only had 1 hair left. She thought, "You know, I haven't tried a pony tail in some time." She fixed her hair into a ponytail. SHE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY.

The next day, the alarm rang, she said, “God has given me another day.” She got out of bed “THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I CHOSE TO REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.” She looked in the mirror and to her surprise, ALL her hair was gone. A moment of sadness passed and she said, “You know what? I don’t have to fix my hair today!” AND SHE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY!

Now I have my doubts that it happened quite that way, but you get the point. The woman’s happiness was not dependent on what happened outside of her, but a choice she made on the inside. Her joy was a result of what her faith did inside of her.

 Edie chose Psalm 118:24 as her life verse. Some of you remember Edie and Carolyn’s mom, Doris Dugan? Edie tells of her mother being very sick with kidney failure and a long list of health problems. She lived at Parkview. When she answered the phone, she answered in a particular way. Do any of you remember how she answered it? “This is the day that the lord has made.” She would not answer saying, “Oh I’m so sick,” or, “I hope you feel sorry for me” or “why do I have all these problems.” She lived by Psalm 188:24 “THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.”

Actually, she inherited that verse from her mother, Edie and Carolyn’s Grandma Ruby. What a testimony she offered when she did that. What a witness she made to not only her family, and anyone else who called, but also to those around her.

We all know that Edie has tried to live by that same verse. Though none of us is perfect, none of our lives is perfect, and Edie admits that there have been hard times, Psalm 118 has made all the difference to her. Do not get me wrong. This is no magic charm, or supernatural incantation. This is a statement of faith. This is a choice that Grandma Ruby, and Doris, and Edie make. “THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.”

 First, let’s talk about “This is the day that the Lord has made.”

This is more than a choice. It is a statement of faith.

When an expert looks at a painting, they can see brushstrokes that tell them that this is the original masterpiece or an imposter. The artist not only signs the masterpiece, they leave their fingerprints all over it in the choice of shape, and color, and texture, and brush stroke.

The same is true for our days. God starts with a fresh canvas every morning. That is the way God created the world, so that yesterday would fade into last night, but every morning the sun comes up and we have a blank canvas on which God starts painting.

•             We see the glory of God in the brightness of the yellows and oranges of the sunrise.

•             We hear the melody of God as the birds start to sing their morning song.

•             We experience the spirit of God resurrecting us from our nights rest and offering an early glimpse of the masterpiece that will unfold throughout the next 12-16 hours.

Sure, we can (and often times DO) go through our days with the illusion that it is just the same old same old, or with the even more dangerous illusion that we are the painter and it is our vision and skill that drives the day.

•             Unless we can make the sun rise earlier or later, or stop all the surprises that a day brings…

•             unless we can add even one minute to the day…

•             unless we can rewind the day and have a do-over. We have to admit that it is not our day… it is the day that God has made and graciously shares with all creation.

Unless you have perfected time travel, you only have one day at a time.

•             THIS DAY.

•             Not yesterday.

•             Not the good old days.

•             Not the day after I finally finish school,

•             or after I retire,

•             or that nebulous “some day.” The Psalm does not say THAT IS THE DAY… no it is THIS one and only day we have. THIS day today.

As people of faith, this is a fact with which we live. This part is not a choice we make, it is a fact… “THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.”

 The rest IS a choice. We have a choice about what we will do with the gift of this day. We are not always very gracious recipients.

•             Sometimes we set the gift on the shelf and try to push and shove our way through the hours under our own power and influence.

•             Sometimes we take the gift without opening it, because we believe it is the same old same old, and we just rehash all of the problems of the past.

•             Sometimes we reject the gift because we don’t want this day, but yearn for the good old days, which probably weren’t as good as we think.

•             Sometimes we are too busy wishing THIS DAY was over so we could get to SOME day.

That is not what a gracious recipient does with a gift. We teach our children to “say thank you” when grandma gives them a gift, but we fail to give thanks for the gift that God gives each of us each and every day.

REJOICE and be GLAD the psalm says. To rejoice is to be full of joy.

Our supporting scripture from Philippians says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." Paul is saying chose thankfulness always, choose joy always, choose rejoicing every day. To understand let’s watch this video.

 So are you more like the fly or the bee? Psalm 118 and Philippians say that we need to be more like the bee. We need to ignore the ugly and stinky stuff and seek out that which is beautiful and joyful in each day. How do we do that? I think part of the answer comes in verse 8 “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

What do you think about all day?

•             Are you more like the bee thinking about what is true, or the fly attracted to the lies?

•             The honorable, or the ugly.

•             The just, or how unfair life is to you.

•             The pure, or those things that soil our minds and spirits

•             Are you more likely to be a bee remembering that which is pleasing, or a fly that keeps buzzing about the things that torque you off?

•             The things that are commendable, or the things about which we should be ashamed.

•             The excellent, or the deficient.

•             The things that are worthy of praise, or the things that are reprehensible.

Paul’s advice is to make a choice for the things that are “true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.” Psalm 118 recommends focusing on the things that fill us with joy.

I am not advocating a Pollyanna approach to life. There are things in life over which we should weep. There things in life which should enrage us. Psalm 118 does not tell us to ignore those things.  It does not tell us to deny those things. It does not tell us to rejoice in evil or injustice.

It simply says, deal with those things but don’t focus on them. Focus on the gift and the power of God in your life, and (As the Psalm says), “Rejoice and he glad in it.”

 If this is a struggle for you… you have a lot of company, including this preacher. My best advice to those who struggle with rejoicing and being glad, is twofold.

•             The good news is that to live with joy is a choice or a habit …. It is not genetic; it is not a special talent. It is a choice we all have. It is a habit we can all start. You are not left out.

•             Second, I notice that am strongly influenced by the people with whom I surround myself. If I surround myself with flies buzzing around the garbage, I tend to start to think that everything stinks. If I surround myself with bees, with people who get out of bed and say THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT, I begin to see the beautiful and I am more able to REJOICE AND BE GLAD. I suspect that might be true for many of you too.

So if this is hard, be encouraged because you do have the power to choose joy. Then, once you choose joy, it will be much easier if you surround yourself with others who choose Joy.

This is the day that the lord has made… what will you do with it? Will you complain, and weep and fret. Or will you rejoice and be glad. Thank you for choosing this passage Edie. It reminded me that it is my choice too. It is all up to me… It is all up to you too

Because THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE

Now it is up to you…

LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD- in today and in all our days to come.