Let us re-joy-ce...

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24


It's funny, I almost posted that in a status on my Facebook today.  Today was awesome; I had a good day of teaching, I found a close parking spot at UNCC (yes this is a big deal), I made a 95 on a book review I wrote, and my professor made my research paper requirements shorter and extended my time by a week.  So naturally, I was rejoicing!


But something stopped me as I was about to post this.  Something called...conviction? You see, I was willing to post this on a day when I couldn't stop smiling and when everything was going well for me.  And like I did today, so many people are willing to relate this verse to their lives when things are going well.  On wedding days, on days you make a good grade on a test, on days where the sun is shining and everything seems to be right in the world.  But the real question is, would I have posted that on my worst day?  Could I have posted that on a day where the tears flowed and my heart was broken?


God did not say "The good days are the days the Lord has made..."  He said THIS day is.


The day your boss fired you? He created that.  
On the day you made an A on a presentation? He made it. 
The day your boyfriend left you? He made that too.


The word rejoice means "to feel joy or great delight".  One of my favorite quotes referring to joy is that "the world doesn't give it and the world can't take it away." Your joy is not hindered or complicated by your circumstances, and the One who gives joy is unchanging.  This is why it is possible to rejoice in even your worst days.  It tells us in 1 Thes. 5:16-18 that God's will for us is to rejoice and be joyful.  This is why rejoicing is not an option; He commands it.


You cannot truly rejoice without joy, and with joy you cannot help but to rejoice.


So even on my worst days I can and will rejoice in the only One that gives me a reason to do so. My face may not always be glad, by my heart will be.


"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again, REJOICE!" -Philippians 4:4