Daily Gifts

This is the day that the Lord has made;
I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Give us today our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11

Rejoice in the Lord always I will say it again, rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

In praying the Lord’s prayer we say, “give us this day our daily bread.” When my children were younger one of their favorite hymns was “This Is The Day.” It is all about rejoicing in the day the Lord has made. Just a few days ago a friend quoted that Scripture to me. She said that she had decided to live the truth that each day is a gift from God. She was choosing to rejoice and be glad. Those things all came together for me this morning as I was praying.

Each day is a gift from God that He is happy to give. I can only imagine that He wants our response to be one of delight. He wants us to rejoice and be glad. I began to think how much it must hurt Him when I wake up and grumble at whatever the day holds. It must break His heart to bless me with a new morning only to hear “oh I don’t want to go to work today” or “I can’t believe I have to clean my carpets” or whatever other complaint may fall from my lips.

I thought about how I feel when I give gifts. When I buy them and especially if I make them I want to the receivers to be thrilled. I want to see the joy in their faces. It is important to me to know that they will enjoy what I have gone out of my way to provide. Years ago I bought my husband a pair of shorts and a shirt, no big deal. Still I wanted him to appreciate the gesture. He didn’t. That outfit sat in his drawer for at least two years. Then one day he started wearing those shorts and literally wore them out. I had spent the time he ignored the gift with hurt feelings, thinking it was his lack of appreciation that hurt. To an extent it was but for the most part it bothered me that he did not enjoy what I had given him.

When we wake up in the morning we are given the gift of a whole new day. If we ignore it, choosing instead of rejoicing to groan and complain we are missing out. That is true of every gift God gives us. If He sends us a divine interruption we should enjoy it to the best of our ability. When He gives us a gift large or small we should rejoice knowing that it is coming from love, from the very source of all love.

I am sad for the days that I have not shown the Lord how grateful I am, how delighted to simply be alive and in His presence. I know no matter how much I do not want there to be that there will be many more of those days I don’t appreciate, those gifts for which I forget to show gratitude.

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