Friday - Psalm 118 - This is the Day

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ither God is good, or He isn't.  Either He made this day, or He didn't.  Either we will choose to rejoice and be glad today, or we won't.  Only the devil tries to muddy these waters and make these things more complex than they really are.  God is good.  This is the day that He has made.  I choose to be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).  And, if for no other reason, we should rejoice today because of God's mercy (1-4 & 29).  We who are as guilty as sin are always in desperate need of His mercy.  Never fear, God is near... He is always near to those who call upon His name.  "The Lord is on my side," the psalmist said (Psalm 118:6).  And hey! "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).  What can anyone do to us if God is on our side?  Jesus stated this plainly in Matthew 10:28. Fearing man - being intimidated by other fallen humans - will only trip us up and slow us down, but fearing only God is constructive.  It procures for us safety and security (Proverbs 29:25).

Sometimes the troubles of life seem to surround us like a swarm of bees (Psalm 118:12). They are everywhere, and yet even as we lash out in resistance, it is as if we can't drive away even one pestering problem.  Like fire racing across a field of dry grass, life's pains can destroy us with rapidity. But then again, just as swiftly, God can swoop in to save us... quenching the anguishes of our cursed existence and giving us a song in our heart again.  There have been many who have rejected His offer of aid, but their decision was a fatal one.  Our God is not just a help, He is the help that we need today and every day (Psalm 118:22).  No human solution is sufficient.  No material agent will do.  No temporal answer will suffice.  Jesus is the answer for your soul and mine.