Melissa
moved to Calgary a few months ago to begin a Master of Architecture program at the U of C. As the first term winds down, the crazy pace has intensified and
she told us that for the next while she will be living right at the school,
sleeping on a couch and budgeting her time for five hours of sleep a night.
I sent
her some encouraging words the other morning, blessing her with strength,
confidence, and peace. She texted back saying that she would have a fifteen-minute
bus ride shortly and that we could have a chat on the phone. In our
conversation, I shared three scriptures, which then reminded me of an article I
wrote about fifteen years ago. I told her I would find the article and email it
to her.
Reading
about that day-in-the-life was like looking at an old snapshot of another life,
but the words are as true today—and as relevant—as they were then.
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will
rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).
Life is so busy lately. And I’ve been running short on
sleep, which doesn’t help. Last night Greg and I didn’t get settled until
12:30—again. Then he woke up at 5:30 a.m., and although he was trying to be
very quiet about opening his current book or his Bible or whatever it was, I
woke up too. Sometimes I can put the pillow over my head and sleep on, but this
time I could tell right away that my brain was up and running for the day.
I peeked out at the morning. Brilliant blue sky. It
was gorgeous. But as I viewed my day from where I lay, it didn’t look so
appealing. Once I got the kids out the door to school, there would be a quick
scramble of duties before I left for my singing lesson. I didn’t have enough
energy even to put my heart into my singing. And I really needed to work out
this morning, but my limbs felt like deadwood. How would I muster the strength?
And the remainder of the day was a maze of commitments, finishing with year-end
ceremonies at the girls’ school. It would be another late night.
I found myself staring into the familiar face of a
long-time acquaintance: discouragement. I wouldn’t exactly say that he’s a friend,
but I have spent a lot of time with him over the years. And in all those times
with him, I can’t say that I remember ever once having any fun. I turned away
from his dark face and looked into the face of the Lord.
“This is the day that the Lord has made,” I found
myself saying aloud. “I will rejoice and be glad in it.” I never much cared for
that quote. It was mercilessly butchered in a simplistic chorus, sung over and
over in churches when I was a new Christian. It spoke to me of a superficial joy
in a newly discovered God, a joy based on pleasant circumstances, utterly
untested by the true facts of life. But now suddenly this verse was resurrected
from its lowly status and infused with new life. This is the day that God
has specially designed for me to live today, I thought. In His wisdom
and goodness He has deemed that I face this day, full of commitments and
challenges, with a tired body, fortified by only five hours of sleep. Because I
trust Him, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
And so I began my day, choosing to rejoice in the
Lord. As the morning progressed and my thoughts mused on God and His Word,
another verse connected itself to the first: “The joy of the Lord is your
strength ” (Nehemiah 8:10). Hmmm. Another seemingly trite verse (God forbid
that I actually say anything in His Word is trite!) from another silly song
reminiscent of my early salvation. But see now how it ties in with the other
verse: If I choose to rejoice in the Lord in this difficult day, I will find
strength from Him.
Now the little concordance in my brain, of its own
volition, took a key word from each of those two verses and went searching for
a verse that would tie the loose ends together. Day, strength. Day, strength .
. . What was that verse hovering on the edge of my memory? And then it popped
up on my mental screen: “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy
33:25b). Whatever kind of day I face, God will see to it that I have the
strength to match it.
I see, Lord. As I face my day, I choose to rejoice
in You. That joy will be the source of the strength I need. And
the strength You give me will be sufficient to meet whatever You bring
me in the course of this day.
Well, it was a good day. And I even found an hour free
to lie down, but I was physically over-tired and I only dozed fitfully. I felt
much worse when I got back up. Again discouragement came knocking as I sat on
the edge of the bed, trying to clear my foggy brain.
I remembered the Lord’s teaching from earlier in the
day. Determinedly I chose to speak out the Word of God. But this is how it came
out: “This is the Lord that the day has made . . .” and my voice trailed off
with a little laugh as I realized my error.
And then I thought a bit more about what I’d
inadvertently said. How often do we make that error? We allow the kind of day
we’re having to determine how big our God is. We reduce the Lord to the stature
of the day. The day becomes the measure of our God, instead of the other way
around.
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty! (Zephaniah
3:17a). Blessed is the
man whose strength is in thee (Psalm 84:5a).
