Have A Good Day?

by Dee Bowman
Southside Church of Christ
Pasadena, Texas

Get a good start. Begin by praying. It gets you in touch with God and makes Him part of your day from the very beginning. He deserves first place in your day, you know. He should be consulted, no matter what is on tap for the day.

Good thinking makes a good start, too. It’s necessary for good planning, for looking where you’re going, for being alert to opportunities as well as possible pit falls. Good thinking just makes for a good day. Caring for the right things makes a good day. If you start with prayer, get your thinking going in the right direction, you will care for the right things—you won’t let distractions get in the way, you will make your priorities proper and your day will be brighter.

And then, there’s the business of goals. Goals don’t have to be big, but even the consideration of little ones makes a day better—especially if at the end of the day you’ve met the goals you set for yourself. Goals keep you focused; they keep you on track. And they energize and motivate as well. “What’s my goal for today?” That’s a big part of having a good day.

Get your guard up early. The devil is like a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8); he walks around seeking his prey. And he’s going to do the best he can to get you off course, to make your goal one that has not spiritual value, to cause you think bad thoughts and do bad stuff. Or he may just try and opiate you so that you just don’t do anything. He’s around and you have to recognize that you’re going to bump into him today—sometime, someway. So you have to get your guard up early so that you’re not so vulnerable.

You have to look for him. He’s not always easy to see. He doesn’t come dressed in red coveralls with horns protruding from his forehead and smelling strongly of soot and ashes. He can come disguised in lots of different costumes. He can be a still, small voice that says, “go ahead, it’s OK.” Or he can cause you to lose your temper. Or he can make you say things about people—or be jealous, or relax your morals long enough to be thought part of the crowd.

There are lots of “wiles” in the devil’s arsenal. You have to be ready every day—and especially today.

Consider the consequences of your actions. Think first about what is going to result from what you do today. If you plan carefully, if you think high thoughts, if you have spiritual goals, chances are the consequences of your day will be good—even if there are parts of it that were not particularly pleasant.

The failure to consider the consequences of things has been the cause of many a bad day. Think about what will happen if you say what you think. Think about what will be the result of your ignoring some bad thing and looking the other way. Think about what will come of the kind of attitude you have shown to those around you.

It’s good to remember that you can be sure your sins will find you out and that you will reap what you sow (Gal. 7:8), even if the harvest is sometime off. Consider the consequences early and you will have a good day.

Take the bad with the good. Every day is not going to be a good day. It’s just a fact of life. Solomon tells us how to manage our day. “In the day of prosperity, be joyful; in the day of adversity, consider,” he says (Eccles. 7:14).

It’s good to remember that the bad stuff we have to endure has a value sometimes. It steels our faith and keeps our focus focused. A bad day can teach us, if we’ll let it; but only if we let it. Bad things happen to good people, too. We have to remember that. The profit in a bad day comes of the realization that this life is not where it’s at and that we need to be planning for that better one.

Bad stuff sometimes results in good things. Sometimes you have to endure some hardship to learn who you are and what you’re all about. Sometimes you need it to test your faith or to help you gain an amount of patience. Fact is, not all bad stuff is bad.

Get an otherworldly view. No matter how successful you are, no matter what you are able to accomplish here, no matter your accumulations or repute, death and judgment are inevitable (Heb. 9:27). You have to understand that nobody—nobody—is going to get out of this world alive. Death will erase all accomplishments—all, that is but the ones that are related to eternity. If you choose to lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, you can take it with you. What a fine thought. It just makes all the sense in the world (‘scouse the pun) to get ready for the next one. And it makes no sense at all to spend all your time getting fixed for this world when you won’t be here very long.

Furthermore, if you don’t adopt an otherworldly view, you’ve actually wasted the day today. If you don’t make plans to grow some, to help some, to be kind to someone, to be a good example of piety and holiness, what good has the day been? Look up, not down.

Well, I sure hope you have a good day.

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