Do this.
Go here.
Call him and call her.
Prepare for that.
Text him or text her.
Send the long overdue email.
Hike there.
Even schedule a Facetime call to catch up.
Run here. Run there & while there, be sure to grab that, oh, and grab that too.

This Day…….
What plans have we made for this day?
Would someone only need to scroll through our phone calendars to know what we hope to accomplish this day?
If we divided our day into compartments, separating work from play & drudgery from joy, would one part of our list outstretch way past the other part of our list?
If we are honest with ourselves, where in the world would we place our Heavenly Father’s will for this one single moment, yes, for this day?

Would God’s ultimate will be categorized on our list as—-

• Work?   OR   Play?   OR EVEN…
• As drudgery?    OR    As joy?

We must remember that God’s plan, God’s will, for our lives is totally NOT dependent upon us!

• Our likes,
• Our circumstances,
• Our genetics,
• Our education,
• Our desires,
• Our talents,
• Our hopes,
• Our feelings,
• Nor our preferences.

GOD’S PLAN IS SO MUCH LARGER THAN <we> COULD EVER IMAGINE!!!

Let us pause and ask ourselves—-Are we living, really living, truly awaking each morning full of “unspeakable joy”?

TRULY, Our inner JOY has absolutely NOTHING to do with what’s on our calendar, with who we will see, or with what we hope to accomplish, read, write, with—–ANYTHING——
<we> could ever do apart from GOD!!!
Our JOY for This Day remains dependent upon one single fact—–JESUS.
Let me write those words again and a bit more emphatically.

OUR JOY FOR THIS DAY REMAINS DEPENDENT UPON ONE SINGLE FACT—–JESUS!!!

If we are HIS, then we are forevermore filled with unspeakable JOY. 
If we are not (His), then we are never going to be filled with JOY until we are God’s.

A Pretty Simple Truth!

And a rather simple equation.

INNER JOY = JESUS LIVING INSIDE ME + NOTHING.

As we might expect there are Scripture passages proclaiming this truth, in fact, there are so many chapters and verses recorded within the Bible reminding us of this truth. 
In one correspondence with the church residing in Colossae, God inspired the Apostle Paul to write:

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—-all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him [God] holy and blameless and beyond reproach—-“

(Colossians 1: 13-22)

When I arose earlier, I read through the list of foreign missionaries living and serving abroad. As I read through the names, first one read through and then again (a second time), one thing caught my attention:  all of the foreign missionaries recorded upon this one list were only identified by two letters each.

First Name & Last Name.  Two small letters, side-by-side, two initials denoting one’s existence.  Here’s the coolest part that struck me on This Day, the part I so wish to SEE & Never Forget.

God knows each one of these missionaries, intimately!

God does not even need their full names to remind Him how these precious people serving abroad—–belong to Him!

They have been Redeemed & Forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  That’s It.

They are known by the Father because of Jesus!!!

AND…as believers, as God’s children, we (too) are known in the same way. We belong to Him!

We have been Redeemed & Forgiven through the same shed blood of Jesus Christ. That’s It.

The grace of God. Oh, such amazing news!!!

This fact makes me want to worship God through song as I type, so, please sing with me, a song composed in the 18th century. The words were written within his mind while John was chained to a wall, down (deep) in the belly of a ship and headed to a place and to a task he did not yet know. Yet, even there, STILL—–John could SEE—–

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear.
It soothes his sorrows, heals the wounds, and drives away his fears.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Twas grace has brought me safe thus far, 
And grace will lead me home.
When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun."            (John Newton 1779)

On this day—–truly it does not matter Who we are on this earth, What we own while we live, or How much wealth, education, and friends we have acquired. 
All that matters on This Day—–Do we know JESUS CHRIST as our Savior & Lord.
On This Day—–May we SEE this Truth—–found only through the name of—–Jesus.