Good Morning!
   "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24  This was one of the first verses I read this morning since it is hanging on the wall in a frame in one of the rooms in our house.
   What might this verse mean to me?  This is a new day, a day allowed and given to me by the Lord.  He made this day, He has plans for this day.  I now have a choice to make with this day.  Will I rejoice in it or will I go through the day with a complaining heart. looking to Him for His expectations of the day?  When twists and turns come into the day will I trust Him?  What does this verse mean to you?
    Not every day is filled with joyful expectations.  We have days that are very straining emotionally.  There are trials and temptations but we still have a choice as to how we view and respond to the day, we can "rejoice and be glad in it." We might want to ask ourselves is rejoicing the same as being happy?   I don't think so or at least I'm learning that it isn't the same.  Rejoicing is deeper, it is something we can do even in the most trying of situations because rejoicing is rooted in our response to the Lord, in response to trusting Him and His perfect work in our lives.  Happiness is a feeling that is dependant upon circumstances.
    We may not be happy with our life's circumstances but we can still be rejoicing in the Lord.  There is always something in our lives that cause us to rejoice in the Lord. Though it might take deep thought and dependence on the Lord to find it.
    Perhaps you have a friend that is in a very trying life situation yet they rejoice.  What is the secret of their rejoicing?  You might take the time to ask them, you will most likely be blessed by their response. 
   I recently had a friend die of cancer.  She found out about the seriousness of that cancer and then purposed in her heart to live more fully for the Lord while she lived.  It was said at her Memorial Service that the last two years of her life were the most fruitful and filled with rejoicing of her whole life.  She was an inspiration those she came in contact with.  She had found the secret of rejoicing, even when she wasn't happy.  She was looking up, hoping in the Lord and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ wherever she went.  At your memorial service would it be said of you:  She knew the secret of rejoicing?
     As we think over these challenging remarks will we keep in mind:  "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24