This morning, I woke up with a well-known, Christian Orthodox song in my heart:
“This is the day,
this is the day
that the Lord has made,
that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice,
We will rejoice,
and be glad in it,
and be glad in it.”
-excerpt from the hymn “This is the Day,”
thought to be from the Coptic liturgical tradition
As I amused myself with these “ancient” lyrics, I pondered at how the song was a timely one to pocket during this quarantine period. All around us, and maybe inside us, we find a flood of emotions: sadness; fear, uncertainty; despondency from a loss of vision; unproductivity; grief from the loss of freedom; grief from the loss of a loved one; a tiredness we cannot explain. There is also the temptation to treat each day mindlessly.
It’s good to remember that the Lord made each day. In fact, each day was made through Him and FOR HIM. Colossians 1:16 says, “For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.” We usually think of God’s creation as falling under the “categories” of human, animal, location, or spiritual entity, but if we look at the Book of Genesis, we find that God made day and night, too!
In fact, if we are alive right now, TODAY was ordained by our Heavenly Father for us. Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” If we’re still alive NOW, then our Father has a plan and purpose for us TODAY. His plan may be as simple as “Rest, don’t strive,” Or “Talk to Me today.” If today has a GOD-purpose, then are we catching His purpose?
When I was a child, I’d have moments of griping and complaining to the Lord about how awful my day was; how horrible I was; how many mistakes I made; how many sins I committed. Finally, one day, I heard Him impress something upon my heart: “Thank Me for today,” He whispered. This opened my eyes to see that God gave me each day— especially “today”— as a gift. No matter how bad I believed my day was, each day was still from Him.
We can live each day with a “God-purpose.” I believe that one way to do this is to start is by asking ourselves really good questions. One such question is: Father, what do You want to teach me today? Or What do You want to show me today? And from there, we may find other questions such as:
How can I give glory to God today?
How can I show God’s love to myself and others today?
How can I express love to God today?
By simply asking these questions, our days can hold a certain depth and a certain expectation. A day can now be perceived as a precious gift from God which we can unwrap and enjoy. After all, “This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made…”— yes, even in the midst of quarantine.
Janina Marie Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of One Voice Magazine, a teacher of world literature, and a student of the Bible. She enjoys reflecting on life’s curve balls and plateaus. She resides in the Philippines, the country known for people who smile a lot.
