This Bible verse is a great reminder that the Lord has made each day; therefore, we should rejoice and be glad for each one that He gives us. However, there is one specific day that I think should make us rejoice and be glad above the rest.
This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She is a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net.
There are many special days that the Lord has given me to rejoice and be glad. These are significant days in my life. Some include, the day of my birth, my wedding day, the days my children were born and the day of my salvation.
January 1, 1989, is the day that I prayed to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. This was the day the Lord made for me to rejoice and be glad because He planned that I should hear, understand and respond to the Gospel message.
Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (NASB)
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)
But is it possible and reasonable to ask us to rejoice and be glad always? The answer must be yes, because the Bible says that it is God’s will for us.
Choosing to rejoice and be glad are decisions that we can make. But, if you are like me there are times when you don’t want to rejoice and be glad due to feelings or circumstances.
Certainly, there will be occasions when it is appropriate to grieve and express sorrow especially when we are suffering. But, even then it’s possible and helpful for us to look for the blessings in trials.
In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Philippians and the verses about rejoicing from a prison cell. This was a time when he could have chosen to complain, but he chose to rejoice instead.
Joy can often seem elusive, but I have found one of the best ways to be rejoice and be glad is to count the blessings God has given me. To help me focus on them, I started a journal as suggested here in this article about the importance of thanksgiving. To date I have over 7,000 entries.
One reason that Christians can always rejoice and be glad is because of the Gospel. Even though Jesus was rejected when he came to earth and was crucified. It was part of God’s plan of redemption for us.
Psalm 118:22-23 says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (ESV)
Jesus referenced Psalm 118:22-23 to speak about Himself in Matthew 21:42 where it says, “Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone: this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”’” (ESV)
Jesus became the cornerstone because He is the foundation of our faith.
Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (ESV)
We can always rejoice and be glad about the Gospel and the day of our salvation.
Maybe you have not yet received Christ yet and you may be thinking as I did prior to becoming a Christian, that God certainly wouldn’t want to hear from me. That I have sinned too much or gone too far and the truth is that we have sinned too much for Him. Everyone has sinned too much because even one sin is too many for a holy God.
But, we can rejoice and be glad because the Gospel or Good News is that Jesus Christ came to save sinners by grace through faith!
Jesus wants to hear from us. He came to die on the cross and take our punishment for us. He rose from the dead and He is alive. In Jesus, there is forgiveness and eternal life.
Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12 NIV)
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“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 | CLICK TO TWEET
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