Strength for the Day

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).