"The Lord is for me—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
Psalm 118:6 CEB
Today I am happy. It is interesting what makes us happy at different times in our lives. When I was young, Fridays always made me happy. Anticipating the weekend, what fun adventure I might have. Fridays still make me happy but for different reasons.
On Friday I work from home, writing a sermon and doing laundry. It is a relaxing day, and I enjoy writing sermons. This Friday I am also in Michigan, staying with my dad while my sister heads out to a conference this weekend. My dad had a stroke a couple of weeks ago and still cannot drive. Being here in this house makes me happy because this is where I feel closest to my mom who died 5 years ago. This makes me happy. I also just heard from my oldest daughter that we are finally going to meet the boy she has been dating since fall. That makes me overly happy. Yet it is not realistic to be happy every day. Some days are hard and thankless. Somedays we long for a change or an end to something that is dreadful. Scripture does not promise us endless happy days.
So, what do you do with bad Fridays? Psalm 118 is a chapter that talks about God’s faithfulness to His people. Verse 6 speaks to me personally. “The Lord is for me[a]—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me? (Psalm 118:6.) My favorite part of this verse is the beginning. The Lord is for me. That is all we need to know. We serve a God who has our back. He is a God who wants the very best for us and our lives.
He is not a God who is waiting for us to mess up so He can judge us. The opposite. He is a parent who crosses oceans for His Kids. He is a parent who can’t wait to hear from them when they pray. He is a God who delights in us and will help us endlessly.
While I may still have really bad days, it does give me peace to know that God has my back, and peace leads to something better than happy.
Peace leads to joy.
Whatever you are feeling on this Friday today, just remember that God is for us. That is worth a smile right there.
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