Day by Day
It was a wonderful day. The sun was shining. The snow was melting. But really, shouldn't every day be a great day?
If for no other reason, we should rejoice and be happy because God gave us this day.
"This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it" ~Psalm 118:24
Every day should be a great day because the unfailing love of God isn't only ours on Sunday or when we things are going our way. God's love never ends and because of His faithfulness and His mercies, we can start off with a clean slate. We begin fresh each day.
"The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day" ~Lamentations 3:22-23
Every day is a day to celebrate because Jesus told us to pray every day that our Father would give us what we need for that day. We aren't to ask for bread for tomorrow or the rest of the week. We don't store up "one free prayer answered" cards and use them when we need something from God. The reason? God wants us to have a daily relationship with Him. As a parent, I'm thankful to connect with my daughters as often as I can. The more often we talk, the more connected I feel. God knows that to have a real relationship, it has to be every day! Jesus is called the Bread of Life, so when we are praying, asking for our daily bread--we are also asking that Jesus, the Bread of Life, be with us.
"Give us today our daily bread" ~ Matthew 6:11
God knows us better than we know ourselves. Before we were born, He saw us. He thinks about us all the time. He has plans for us. Every day of our lives are known by God.
"You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!" ~Psalm 139: 15-17
Each of us gets to decide who is in charge of our lives. God gives us free will. We can go on through this life doing whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, with whomever we want. Or, we can make Jesus the Lord of our lives.
"You must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve" ~Joshua 24:15
If we choose to make Jesus, Lord of our lives, then we follow Him. We obey Him. We serve Him. It's not about us. It's about Him.
"Jesus said to all of them, "If people want to follow Me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow Me" ~Luke 9:23
My life is more meaningful, simpler, exciting, richer, joyful and I am most assuredly more at peace every day that I put God first.
Day by day, day by day
Oh dear Lord, three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
To love thee more dearly
To follow thee more nearly
Day by day
