His Encouragement: Rejoice and be glad

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Welcome! Welcome, dearest friends, to His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for Your Thursday. Every week, I join a few blogging friends to bring you a Bible passage and a little hope-filled discussion. We pray that these devotionals help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you.

Today’s Scripture

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

This word of encouragement comes a day late. Sometimes life gets busy – hectic even! – or maybe we suddenly find ourselves face-to-face with an obstacle of gigantic proportions. Or our journey takes a few detours we weren’t expecting that throws us off.

Even in those times, when it is so easy to get caught up in the moment and try to figure things out on our own, we should not forget to turn to the Lord. He wants us to cast our worries, cares, and burdens on Him! (1 Peter 5:7).

The great big ones and also the little ones.

I have talked about big life challenges many times over the last year, but sometimes what we may face is just a bad day. We all have those from time to time, don’t we?

That is what happened to me yesterday. Lack of sleep, a hurtful gesture, going too long without eating, and a series of tiring incidents with our two toddlers while the baby cried and cried and cried made the morning seem rotten.

My attitude was also rotten. You could say I was in a “funk” for a few hours. I just wanted to throw my hands up, dive under the covers, and stay in bed for the whole day!

Bad day? Give it over to God… and the sooner the better! Share on X

But that is not always practical, especially if you are a parent with young children. But whether your children are little or grown or you have no children at all, we all sometimes have a bad day. In my own experience, I have learned that ignoring a problem or trying to hide from it often makes things worse.

I need to give it over to God… and the sooner the better!

So yesterday I had to take my hurt feelings and my hunger-fueled angst and remember that even on the so-called “bad” days, I need to rejoice in the Lord and be grateful for His blessings of life and family.

Not every parent can rejoice that their toddler loves using the “big boy” potty… even if it is four times in a row during breakfast. One day, looking back, I’m sure I’ll laugh about the sagging diaper that left a trail of pebble-like poop through the kitchen and living room. And the cries of a hungry baby means that this precious little one has the gift of life and health and a loving family ready to scoop him up in hugs and cuddles.

I sometimes wonder if God looks at us like I sometimes look at our toddlers: I love them so much but often shake my head at the things they do.

Yesterday and last night I was reminded that, while sometimes exhausting, these moments are fleeting. So I will strive to cherish every one… even the “bad” days.

Rejoice and be glad

After all, this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.

PS: And sometimes the perfect cure for a bad day is getting you and the kids out of the house for a while! Go out into God’s beautiful creation, if you can, or share His love by visiting with others.

What verse has touched your heart this week? Share in the comments below!

Be sure to also visit my fellow bloggers and read their encouragement for your Thursday as well:

• Trisha of Joy of Reading
• Nicole of The Christian Fiction Girl
• Jessica of A Baker’s Perspective
• Becca of The Becca Files
• Gina of Stories by Gina
• Rev. Rebecca Writes

Hi there, blogger. Would you like to join us in sharing encouragement from the Word of God every Thursday? Don’t be shy! Contact Trisha or Nicole today!

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Photo by Bradley Van Sant.