How to Have a Good Day

Who is the man who desires life,
and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry;

Psalm 34: 12–15

In Prayer, Praise and Promises W. Wiersbe comments as follows:

How often has someone said to you, ‘Have a good day.’ That’s a nice statement, but what does it mean? When you review the day’s activities before you go to bed, how do you know whether the day was good or bad? When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery; that was a bad day. But God turned it into good for him. When Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph and had him put into prison, it was a bad day, but God turned that into good for him also. You see we don’t always know what a good day is. However, we can make our days good if we follow the instructions given in today’s passage.

FIRST, control your tongue. David asks, ‘Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?’ (v. 12) Of course everyone wants long life and good days. So you must ‘keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.’ (v. 13) When you say the wrong thing, you will have a bad day. So keep your tongue under control. SECOND, ‘depart from evil and do good;’ (v. 14). If you want to have a good day, do good. If you sow the seeds of goodness, you will reap the harvest of goodness. THIRD, ‘seek peace and pursue it.’ (v.14) Don’t be bothered by every little slight or by everything that people say. If someone cuts in front of you in a line, don’t let it bother you. Be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. FINALLY, trust the Lord because He is watching you. ‘The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry;’ (v.15) The word ‘open’ means ‘attentive to’—You don’t have to worry about what other people do. God is watching you and He is listening to you.

Let us pray:
Father God, we are going through very anxious, sad and distressing times because of the coronavirus.
Help us to be patient with ourselves and with others in what we say;
when we forget things to be done, help us not to be hard on ourselves.
Father, please help us to be peacemakers and not troublemakers.
Gracious Lord, may we be aware of your presence, listening to us and watching over us.
If there are people in our neighbourhood who need assistance, may we come alongside them:
the disadvantaged, the lonely and anxious; those in need who are short of essentials.
Help us to show love and compassion, and by so doing be Jesus’ hands and feet.
In reflection, at the end of each day we want to be able to say that ‘WE HAD A GOOD DAY’.

Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

Amen

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and for ever!

Amen

2 Peter 3: 18

Glynne Gordon-Carter