“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 NIV) Christians have often used this verse to remind each other that each new day on this earth is a gift from God, who made all things, so enjoy each day as a gift from him! This is true, so keep on enjoying each day as a gift from your Creator!
But when you look at this Bible verse together with the verses that come right before it, you realize it is saying even more. Those verses say: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22-23 NIV) “The stone the builders rejected” is Jesus. The “builders” who rejected him are the leaders of his people. They should have been encouraging people to be “built on Jesus” by trusting in him as the promised Savior. Instead, they rejected him and got him nailed to a cross. But they didn’t stop God from carrying out his plan to have Jesus be our Savior. He used the wrong they did to put Jesus in just the right place to give his life as the sacrifice that paid for our sins. Then he raised Jesus from the dead, to live forever, and be forever the Rock on which the Church is built. That’s what the inspired writer of Psalm 118 is especially rejoicing in when he says, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
But this verse isn't just for Easter Day. What it celebrates came true on the day our Lord Jesus rose from the dead; but it remains true on each new day that God gives us on this earth. Each day is a day when the Lord Jesus lives, risen from the dead, and is ruling over all things at God’s right hand.
And so each day new day of your life is a day when what else will be true? You who are built on Jesus by trusting in him, will be right with God, (1 Pe 2:6) clothed in his righteousness and covered by his forgiveness. Each day your Lord will use his power over all things to make sure that in all things- even painful and difficult ones- he will make them serve for your good and the good of your fellow believers. (Ro 8:28) Each day he lives to keep his promise that you won’t be tempted more than you can bear. (1 Co 10:13) Each day he will be with you as your loving shepherd, to guide you and carry you along in just the right way, knowing just what you need. (Isaiah 40:11) Each day will he will place before you ways to serve him and bless others by things you do, which he has equipped you for in just the right way. (Eph 2:10). Each day God’s goodness and mercy will be following you. (Psalm 23:6) And if today should be the last day of your life on earth, it will be the day when he does for you what he promised to the thief on the cross who trusted in him: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Lk 23:43 NIV)
So let each day be a little Easter- a day when you can say, “This is the day the LORD has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it- for I know that my Redeemer lives!”
