This Is The Day That The Lord Hath Made

This is the Day that the Lord Hath Made

Text: Psalm 118:24

If you will, please take your Bible’s and open them up to Psalm 118, and our text this morning is going to be verse 24… so Psalm 118:24. If you don’t have a Bible, we invite you to use our Pew Bibles, and you’ll find this passage on page ________.

Now this is a great Psalm… one of my favorites, so please follow along with me as I read out text (READ Psalm 118:24).

A few years ago, I was visiting with some old friends from way back. And they were talking about all the crazy things we used to do, and some of it I remembered to my shame, but there were a couple of occasions where this friend of mine would bring up some old story, and ask me, “Do you remember that?” And I honestly didn’t remember it. And he was like, “How can you not remember that?” And I said to him, “Because, I’m living the life I’m living now, not the life I was living 30 years ago.”

The past is gone, and we can’t change it. And that future you’re either worrying about, or maybe dreaming about may – or may not, arrive. But we have today – right now – and we are given each day as a gift from God.

I once had a pastor friend tell me that his daily prayer went something like this – “Dear Lord, so far today I am doing alright. I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, or selfish. However; in a few minutes, I’m going to be getting out of bed, and I’m gonna’ need a lot of help after that.”

Now maybe that’s a prayer you need to start your day with, but I think a better one would be Psalm 118:24 – THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE. I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

That’s a good way to start your day!

Now I don’t know about y’all, but I learned that song early on as a Christian. I’ve been singing it ever since, and the reason I do that is because it encourages me. There’s no way you can sing that song and not be lifted up, and I think the reason it encourages me is because it’s the truth! It’s right here in God’s Word! And it reminds me that TODAY – this day – was made by God. This day – is not just random. It’s not just happenstance. It is the day that the Lord has made!

Now… how do I know that? Because the Bible tells me so. Genesis 1:1 – the very first in the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:3 says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” That’s JESUS!

Listen to how Psalm 104:10-24 describes the work of God’s hands (READ).

So God created all things, and God sustains all things. Colossians 1:16-17 says that, “For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

I love that passage… not only were all things created by Jesus, and through Jesus, but He’s the one that keeps all things together. And what these verses tell us is that God… our God… our Make and Creator, didn’t just create the universe and wind it up like a clock, and set things in motion, and then just leave it on its own. Nope! He’s to this very day, still holding all things together. He is our Make AND our Sustainer!

So all those things that we just read about in Psalm 104 – the birds, and the young lions, the sun and moon, time and seasons – all of it, is held together by Jesus! God is active, and involved in every second… EVERY MILISECOND, in His creation!

And you know what else? He’s in complete control of it all!

Psalm 93:1 – “The Lord reigns: He is robed in majesty; The Lord is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.”

Psalm 115:3 – “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.”

So our God is our Maker, our Creator, our Sustainer, and He is Sovereign over all He has made. The Lord reigns; He is ruler and master over all that He has made.

And that should be encouraging to us who are His people. Because the fact of the matter is, we mess up. We make mistakes. We say the wrong things, and do the wrong things, and foul things up from time to time. We lose control, things get past us, and we as human beings have a real tendency to mess things up. But not God.