Happy Every Day

Even though CW and I had exchanged New Year acknowledgements at midnight, just before he dropped into bed, I greeted him the next morning with “Happy New Year.” He returned the greeting without a second thought.

The following morning, I greeted him with “Happy January 2.” He thanked me. The next morning, it was “Happy January 3.” His thank you sounded like a question. After a couple more days, he said, “What’s going on?” I shrugged, revealing nothing, and went on my way.

I observed his quizzical looks and hesitant thank-yous for several more days. By January 10, he was seriously trying to figure out what I was up to, like it was leading toward some grand surprise. Not wanting him to build this idea up to the point of expecting a new classic truck to appear in the driveway several months down the road, I decided to tell him what I was doing.

We celebrate many special days: birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, holidays. But what about all those days in between? Regular, everyday days. Nothing-special-about-them days. Isn’t every day worthy to be celebrated?

If we worked at it, we could probably come up with something specific to break out the bubbly for every day. Such was the case in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show (Season 1, Episode 17: “Alcohol and Old Lace”). Andy and Barney were trying to track down moonshiners in Mayberry and finally discovered two elderly sisters making the home brew in their flower shop. When questioned, they innocently said it wasn’t for drinking; it was for celebrating special occasions. Their customers continually introduced them to holidays unknown to them, such as National Potato Week or Panama Canal Day.

Though we could find something different to celebrate each day of the year, it isn’t necessary. The psalmist gives us permission to rejoice every day: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). I determined to begin every day this year with rejoicing and share it by way of my morning greeting to CW.

To me it meant I recognize every new day is given to me by God. He is the Creator of all days (Genesis 1:3-5), and he has determined the number of my days (Job 14:5). So I can be glad for every day I am given and the loving Father who gives them. Each new day is another one to live for him.

I became curious, though, about what day it was that the Lord actually made in Psalm 118. Did it refer to any day in general? Or was it a more specific day? The Hebrew word for made in verse 24 means to “ordain . . . a festal day” (Brown-Driver-Briggs). I explored the psalm to try to discover what day the Lord had ordained.

Uncertain Authorship

Many scholars believe Psalm 118 was written by David about his own situation. Others, however, think it was written several centuries later after the return of the Israelites from Babylonian exile, telling of the rebuilding of the temple.

What is clear is that it is a psalm of thanksgiving for the people of Israel. It is about a person or persons gaining victory over their enemies by God’s power and then going to the house of the Lord to offer sacrifices for the mercy he has shown them.

The Rejected Stone

The psalm also refers to someone who, though anointed for leadership, is rejected by the people before ultimately being established in that position. “²²The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; ²³the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22-23). These verses directly precede “This is the day . . .” and may help us to understand “the day the Lord has made.”

The stone could refer to David who was chosen by the Lord to succeed Saul as king of Israel but was rejected by many people. It could also refer to Jesus who was “born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2) but was rejected by his own people and crucified.

A capstone is the center stone in the top of an arch. Without it, the arch will fall. David was eventually established by God as king and he united all the tribes of Israel. Jesus was raised to life by God and “exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2:32-33) having united Jews and Gentiles, and having become the way for all people to be united to God.

Prophetic References

Even if Psalm 118 is written about David, it definitely had prophetic references to Jesus (Matthew Henry’s Commentary; Matthew Poole’s Commentary; Treasury of David). Jesus quoted verses 22 and 23 referring to himself as the rejected stone becoming the capstone (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17).

The next verse tells us “The Lord has done this” (Psalm 118:23). Through the resurrection, God accomplished Jesus’ victory over death and established him as the capstone of the Church. “And it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23). The Hebrew word for marvelous means “to be surpassing or extraordinary” (Strong’s Concordance). This singular event in all of history—which definitely took place centuries after the writing of the psalm—surpasses every other one that has ever occurred, or ever will, in importance and accomplishment.

“This is the day the Lord has made”

The writer of Psalm 118 acknowledged to the Lord “you have become my salvation” (v. 21). The rejected one had become the capstone, also becoming Israel’s only way to salvation (Acts 4:12). Salvation is ultimately about a relationship with God. Darby speaks of the day the Lord made as “the blessing of His people in connection with Messiah” (Darby’s Bible Synopsis).

Did the Lord officially decree this day to celebrate the victory of Jesus becoming the capstone? Did he designate it as a time to celebrate his people being restored to him?

This passage has given me a deeper meaning to my simple morning greetings. Each day is still glorious simply for the gift from God of another day to walk with him. But it is also a day to remember what God accomplished through Jesus’ resurrection. He made it possible for each person to be restored to him eternally. “This day” is an opportunity to recognize Jesus as our salvation and enter into that redeeming relationship. If we have already done that, then it is another day to exult in the kingship of Jesus and celebrate our restoration to the Father.

In one of our morning conversations, CW surprised me when he interjected “Happy January 12.” I hadn’t gotten to it yet. The next morning, he beat me again. Though tempted, I decided I wouldn’t make it into a contest because I didn’t want anything to detract from its significance for me. So whoever gets to it first each morning is fine with me. So far it’s usually me voicing the greeting and CW responding with a simple “Thank you” or “You too.” My plan is to make it through the entire year, daily celebrating my Capstone who holds my world together.

So, Happy Whatever-day-it-is-you-are-reading-this because “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Scripture quotations are from NIV.

Hebrew definitions and commentary notes are from Bible Hub. See Resources.

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