“My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; for I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds.” (Psalm 71:15-17 NASB)
In searching old files on my computer, I found a report written by an early elementary student; perhaps at the 3rd to fourth grade level. The report was short, but in her concise way she completely reported on her day; focusing on the things that stood out. The day which she reported on happened to be her birthday. I’m going to share her report with you. Perhaps it will give you a model to monitor your living, making it easy for you to summarize your own day before you go to bed tonight in a similar fashion as the elementary.
Here’s her report: “For my birthday day I had a hotel party. I went swimming and opened presents . Also I got money for family and friends. Then I went shopping downtown. I thanked God for life, love, lots of people caring for me, and I thanked the Lord. He made all these good things happen.” As you can see, this young child did not write a complaining word or express how she wished her day would have turned out different on her special day There was no mention of disappointment. Absent were any words in her report that would rob her of her joy. Present was the feeling of blessing; the ability to celebrate another year of life; a blessing! Present was the expressed joy of receiving tangible blessings and the intangible blessings of the love shown by friends and family, lots of people, showing her love; a multitude of blessings, for sure. The best part of the report, as far as I am concerned, is that she expressed thanks to the Lord and shared that it was indeed Him that made all the good things happen on her birthday.
Now, what about your report? What will your report be at the end of the day; a special day because the Lord let you see a new day? What will you have to say? Will you focus on the good instead of the bad? Will you be all right, knowing that all things will work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose? Will you recognize and respond to your tangible and intangible blessings that you shall receive today? Will you thank God for another day’s journey? I wonder, will you include in your report anything about the goodness of God? Will you think of His goodness to you? Will your report show that your good days outweigh your bad days for real, hence absent is any complaint? Will your report reveal that you were God-conscious and communicate that you recognize that He was the centerpiece of your day?
I guess only you will know about your report. Only you can answer questions about your report. No one else will read the thoughts in your mind or even see what you pen in your private journal. Nevertheless, I hope you start your day, looking at the goodness of God in your life this Thursday morning. Do you want to know something? Okay! Listen! By doing so, not only will your day be brighter, better, and blessed, but will have a great report that will not leave out God’s doings in your life. Wake up! See the Lord moving! Start taking mental notes! Observe, overflow your mind with appreciation to God, and organize your thoughts so that you will be able to write condensed and compelling, great report tonight! Be blessed!
“Yes, I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.” (Psalm 13:6 CEB)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King