This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Today, when so many people are still under an impression of recent terrorist attacks in the United States, I would like to encourage you to take a look at what the Bible has to say about joy. For some people, an idea that we can we rejoice in the midst of troubles seems ridiculous. Or, perhaps, they have an impression that joy, under such circumstances, is a sign of selfishness. But, if well go deeper into this subject, well discover the fact that not only we can rejoice it is important for us to rejoice, if we want to be overcomers. Joy is necessary for our well-being, for our health and for our success.

This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.

As you read this verse, I would like to ask you to make it personal. Of course, this applies to all that we are reading in the Bible. It will be useful and meaningful for us in a degree we make it personal, or, in other words, personally related to us. How can we do that? Make what it says an affirmation. Dont read we, or say we. Say, I.

This is the day the Lord has made, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.

Thats a statement of faith. By saying these words, we declare that our joy comes from the realization that we live in Gods world.

To think that God can be absent from this world, even for a nanosecond, is a sad mistake that leads people to all sorts of other mistakes. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. People cannot be separated from God, even if they will try. Even if they will try hard. To be separated from God would mean cease to exist, and that is impossible. Therefore, the only place where separation can be found is our consciousness. And the sooner we will erase this consciousness of separation from our mind, the better it will be for us.

When you come to know Gods Omnipresence, not as a theological idea, but as a reality, your vision at once becomes clear. You begin to understand that divine order unfolds in the world. Behind all of tragic events, behind all sufferings and pain, behind seeming losses and failures, there is an invisible, but yet mighty power of Good, power of Love. This power, slowly but surely works in all people, moving them to a greater good. You realize that the last word belongs to God.

Of course, we need to have in mind that we all personally responsible for cooperation with God. We cannot stop the process of the worlds transformation, but we can either speed it up, or slow it down. We cannot stop Gods will from being fulfilled, but we can either take an active part in doing of Gods will and receive our reward, or decline from it, and suffer loss. To the degree we are open for what God wants to do in us and through us, we will experience happiness and fulfillment.

My joy comes from the realization that God is the Designer and the Creator of this world. The fact that God is good gives me an assurance that our world is good.

My joy comes from the realization that God is All-good and All-powerful. I do not question His goodness or His power on the basis of my limited ideas and false expectations.

My joy is rooted in my faith and not in my experiences, or experiences of others. I boldly affirm that it is done to me according to my faith. My faith is the power that shapes my reality, as I work together with God in blessing the world.

This is the day the Lord has made. I rejoice, and I am glad in it.