Special days stand out in our memory – birthdays, graduations, wedding anniversaries, and job promotions. Terrible days likewise sear our minds – the death of a close friend, a serious auto accident, or loss of a job. But what of ordinary days? Same old routine, normal ups and downs, the hours dragging a bit, not much excitement. Most days qualify as ordinary days. How we handle them probably determines how well we live.
Psalm 90 offers us a perspective for dealing with ordinary days. We are reminded of God’s eternal presence in our lives. The One who always has existed dwells in our midst. As New Testament Christians we recall how “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, dwells with us in the midst of God’s people. The psalm goes on to expose the reality of our sinfulness and the shortness of our days on earth. We have reason to number our days.
From this perspective on God and the human life span comes our text’s approach for dealing with ordinary days. God’s unfailing love awaits us every morning, including days that seem like all the others. His love in Jesus Christ cleanses us from our sins and refreshes us for another day of service. We daily remember His unfailing love in the waters of Baptism. As a result, we “sing for joy … all our days,” the good ones and the bad ones, the special ones and the terrible ones, and, oh yes, the ordinary ones. In fact, because of God’s unfailing love a good case can be made for labeling them extraordinary.
PRAYER: Thank You, O Lord, for Your unfailing love every morning. May I see all my days as extraordinary because of You. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)