TGIM -- Thank God It's Monday!

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. -- Psalm 118: 24 (NLT)

No day of the week has a worse reputation than Monday. I know people who dread the word Monday, let alone the day. Facebook is always littered with amusing pictures of animals looking sad with some quip about how horrible Mondays are. I get it and understand it, as I would prefer to sleep in on Mondays too. This world has a way of bringing us down, wearing us out, and doing us in if we are not carefully grounded in Jesus Christ. Thankfully, greater is He that is in us than the Monday we need to get through. We can do all things through Christ, including surviving Mondays.

But we are called to so much more than merely surviving. We need to appreciate the gift of life God has given us. Not just the fun sunny Saturdays but the seemingly bleak working Mondays as well. Do we realize that if we live to be eighty years old, we would have gone through 4160 Mondays? That is 11 years worth of Mondays! How many of us at 80, knowing the end was coming soon for us, would love to do those 11 years over again and live them with the joy the Lord intended for us?   Here is what Jesus says:

The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. -- John 10: 10 (NLT)

Jesus does not say here that He has come to give us rich and satisfying weekends! Let us not lose sight of the first half of this verse either. The devil is out to steal our joy beloved. He would prefer to do it in one fell swoop but if he has to, he will take it one day at a time. One Monday at a time. If he can get us to carry over Monday's misery into Tuesday then he steals two days from us. Two days where people may not see the joy of the Lord inside of us. Two days where people God puts in our path may choose to avoid us. Realize we are only talking about being unhappy because of what day it is! We haven't even factored in life yet! There are plenty of things we have to deal with on a daily basis that can "ruin our day."

Please this is not an exercise in faking happiness. We have enough Christians who walk around with masks on, hiding their pain and misery for fear of being buried by their brethren. There are genuine events in our lives which will test our joy. Things which rightfully generate feelings of sadness. While God has blessed us and we certainly are highly favored, we are most definitely not always "blessed and highly favored." Beyond these times when we are challenged however, we need to give no quarter to the enemy who is out to steal our joy for no good reason. How do we get to that place? First we have to remember where our joy is found:

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. -- Psalm 16: 11 (NKJV)

Let us look at the truths in this verse. First of all, there are many paths we can take in this life. Each day we are given choices about paths to take. The ones that lead us to lose our joy are usually not clearly marked with a sign that reads -- "Misery- straight ahead!" Yet even if it were I am afraid sometimes we would walk right down that path anyway. This verse however reminds us that God will show us the path of life. The Bible says that God will make our path known to us if we would simply stop leaning upon our own understanding.

Secondly, the verse teaches us that in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. The hard cold reality for us sometimes is we simply do not take God with us on Mondays, or during other challenging times. Yes, the Holy Spirit is indwelt but He will not force Himself upon us -- we must reflect to Him. Sometimes we can ritualize God. We say hello to Him in the morning to start our day. Lock Him up in the prayer closet and go to work"wait a minute. What happens then when the enemy comes around to steal our joy? God is meant for more than saying grace and praying for traveling mercies. Realize that we should not be leaving the presence of God. He lives within us! The world bases its happiness upon conditions. It is a conditional happiness. If I make this much money I will be happy. If I obtain this degree I will be happy. The problem is that we are fickle, fleshly human beings that will always move the goalposts on our happiness measurements. Once we obtain the salary we want, we will want more. Money, fame, success or any other worldly happiness goal will be fleeting beloved. Look at how many rich and famous people have died recently who were completely miserable. If you base your happiness upon the things of this world, you will always be disappointed. As Christians, our happiness is not conditional -- it is positional. Because God has saved us and imparted His very Spirit to dwell within us, our happiness is based upon the fact that our position is always with God and in His presence is fullness of joy. What about all of the heartache in the world? What about it!

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." -- John 16: 33 (NLT)

Whatever it is that we face in this world, Jesus has overcome it and He lives within us. The Bible says that our life here on earth is but a vapor. We have been granted the eternal life and the assurance that our sins have been forgiven. The verse concludes with acknowledgement that at the right hand of the Lord are pleasures forevermore. David has said that because God is at His right hand, he will never be shaken. This brings us to the key verse, usually used to describe Sundays. The reality however is that THIS is the day the Lord has made. This day, any day, even Monday. When we try to navigate this world without God, we fall for the traps of the enemy so much easier. Sadness leads to depression and then to despair. Monday leads to Tuesday and the next thing you know your whole being is searching for the joy and peace the enemy has stolen from you. We might get as many as 11 years worth of Mondays. Time is the one commodity we can never recover; never get back. Make every day worth the sacrifice of Christ and live within His unspeakable joy. Thank God it's Monday!

Rev. Anthony