My favorite day!

Sometimes we can find the most profound things in the simplest of things, can't we? Ever read Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne?  In the book, there is an illustration of Pooh's best friend Piglet walking alongside him.  Pooh asks Piglet what day it is - to which Piglet responds it is "today".  The next part is my most favorite part, for Pooh, in a matter-of-fact voice announces, "My favorite day!"  Sometimes Pooh just hits it on the head, doesn't he?  In essence, he is saying any day spent with his best buddy is a great day in his book! I'd have to agree!

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  (Psalm 118:24 KJV)

We can all benefit from just taking a little down-time to just simply "hang with Jesus" a little longer, or sing his praises a little louder.  What is that I hear?  I think I might just hear Jesus saying, "My favorite day!"   We might spend an inordinate amount of time with ourselves, others, and even strangers, all the while forgetting about the one most important relationship.  When we stop long enough to just luxuriate in his presence, we might just hear those words from the lips of the one who yearns for time with us!

THIS is the day.  There is no other day - today is the day.  It is pretty emphatically stated in this passage - pay attention to the day at hand, not so much the one which is coming somewhere into the future, or those which have already passed us by.  THIS is the day.  There is a quote which goes something like a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.  I don't know the source of that statement, but the idea conveyed is that of keeping what you have instead of risking the loss of it for something you "might" be able to attain down the road.

When it comes to maintaining relationship with Jesus, there is nothing more important!  A day with him is worth more than a thousand more to follow!  Now, if we'd learn to actually live that way, really enjoying our day with him as our "most favorite day", we might just get more out of our day! We might find the frustrations melt away, problems seem to sort themselves out, and perspective beginning to change which helps us see things in a different light.

This is the day the LORD HAS MADE.  It isn't a day of our own making - but one he has particularly prepared just for us. Considering the vastness of the population of this earth, the idea of God making any day just for me seems overwhelming.  The fact remains - this is the day he has made. It is made by his hand, energized with his breath, and comes alive with the sound of his voice.  If we just get close enough to him to experience that day WITH him, we might just get way more out of the day than we ever thought possible.

Let us REJOICE and BE GLAD in it.  Not because of it, but in it.  Rejoicing is an attitude of finding joy in what we behold. It is this idea of reveling in it and taking extreme delight in it. When we recognize this is the day he has made, we cannot help but revel in the awe of what he has prepared for us.  I drive to work each morning with the Eastern sky in view through my windshield.  As the winter sky is unfolded before me in those early morning hours, it is not uncommon for me to behold the beauty of dawn and the majesty of a glorious sunrise.  I just revel in the beauty of those moments when God "paints the sky" with all that color, just for me!

It isn't the miraculous he calls us to revel in, but the simplicity of his presence and the enjoyment of just "hanging with him" a little longer, just a little closer, and maybe even with a little more expectation and delight in what that time means to him.  We come with all our "agenda items" - he just comes to be with us!  Today is his "favorite day" because it is the day he is with you!  Just sayin!