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Good morning, friends! Pull up a chair on the porch — Uncle Ricky, Biscuit, and Olive have a verse to share with you today.

Uncle Ricky: Well, good morning, Biscuit. Good morning, Olive. I have got a verse for us today that is short enough to memorize before breakfast and strong enough to carry us all the way to supper. It is Psalm 118, verse 24: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Biscuit: Wait. The LORD made today? Like, on purpose? Even the Wednesday part?

Olive: Even the pink sky this morning! I saw it when I flew over the porch. I knew it was on purpose.

Uncle Ricky: On purpose is exactly right, little lady. Now listen to what the verse does NOT say. It does not say, “This is the day which the LORD hath made — as long as everything goes my way.” It doesn’t say, “if the coffee is hot and the truck starts and nobody crosses me.” It just says: this is the day the LORD made. Rain or shine, good news or hard news — the day itself is His handiwork, and that never changes.

Biscuit: But Uncle Ricky… what if it’s a BAD day? What if you stub your toe and spill your coffee and everything’s just… ugh?

Uncle Ricky: Then we rejoice anyway, Biscuit — and notice, the verse tells us how: “we WILL rejoice.” That’s not a feeling that has to show up first. That’s a decision. Rejoicing on a hard day is something you choose, the way you choose to put on your shoes. Your feelings can catch up later — they usually do, once they see where you’re headed.

Olive: Like singing before you feel like singing, and then you DO feel like singing!

Uncle Ricky: That’s it exactly, Olive. Some folks wait for a reason to rejoice, and they wait and wait, and the day gets away from them. But King David — well, he wrote this before he knew how the day would turn out. Psalm 118 is a song of victory, sung by faith. He rejoiced FIRST, and the gladness followed.

Biscuit: So today counts even if it’s just… an ordinary day? Even if nothing special happens?

Olive: Biscuit, every day the LORD makes is special. He doesn’t make any junk days. I checked.

Uncle Ricky: Ha! Out of the beak of a dove, friends. And here’s the last thing: not one of us is promised tomorrow. So this day — THIS one, the one in your hands right now — it’s a gift with your name on it. Don’t waste a gift. Open it. Enjoy it. Thank the Giver for it.

Biscuit: Okay. I’m in. Even the Wednesday part. ESPECIALLY the Wednesday part!

Olive: Me too! Today is my favorite day… so far!

Uncle Ricky: Well then, let’s pray about it. Dear LORD, thank You for this day — for making it, and for giving it to us. Thank You that we don’t have to wait for perfect circumstances to be glad, because You are good in all of them. Help us to rejoice on purpose today: to notice Your hand in the small things, to be patient in the hard things, and to be grateful in all things. Teach us to treat this day like the gift it is. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Uncle Ricky: Now go on and have yourself a day worth rejoicing in — and take that verse with you. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. We’ll see y’all right here tomorrow, Lord willing. God bless you, friends.

— Uncle Ricky, with Biscuit and Olive

A little something from the shop: our “This Is the Day the LORD Hath Made — Psalm 118:24” design is in the Uncle Ricky’s Bible shop now — on shirts, mugs, and more. Every purchase helps keep the daily devotion and the chapter readings coming to you free. Find it at relateecm.com/shop/ — and thank you kindly for being part of this family.