It's Going to Be a Great Day

“It’s going to be a great day.”

This has been my motto every day for the past month or so now.  It all started one morning when I strolled downstairs to the breakfast table at Antioch (the house I live in with Saint Paul’s Outreach at Ohio State).  It’s not easy to wake up at 6 AM most days of the week and feel joyful doing it, but this particular day was different.  My heart was singing a song of joy and gratitude.  My SPO brothers immediately broke out in grins and eyerolls that screamed, “Here we go again.  Cory’s being goofy.”

This same attitude continued for the remainder of the week.  By the next Monday, I didn’t feel the same joy that made it easy to be optimistic about the day before it even started.  Regardless, I put on a smile and said, “It’s going to be a great day.”

Shortly after, I helped lead a Life Teen retreat with a parish I routinely serve at during the school year.  Before any teens had arrived, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  There was distress and heartbreak.  My natural response after offering whatever assistance I could was to remind the youth minister, Maggie, that it was going to be a great weekend and this wouldn’t change that. 

The next week, waking up joyful was nearly impossible.  I was tired, stressed, and overwhelmed with schoolwork and other responsibilities.  As I rolled out of bed, I caught myself thinking, “This day is going to be awful.” Immediately after, I corrected myself.  “It’s going to be a great day,” I said. 

I share this story because God has blessed me tremendously the past month and taught me an important lesson that I think all Christians can learn from – the lesson of choosing joy whether you feel like it or not. 

Christian joy is powerful because it is both an incredible outward witness to those we encounter each day and an anchor for our disposition towards Christ.  Yes, joy is an emotion and emotions are fleeting.  However, an authentic encounter with Jesus should spurn in our hearts a gratitude for who He is and all He has done for us.  In this sense, joy becomes a decision reflecting praise for how the Lord has worked in our lives.  Joy for the Lord is a contagious joy.

When I make the conscious decision each morning to say, “It’s going to be a great day,” this doesn’t imply that I feel good about the day; rather, it’s an outward projection of my faithfulness to Christ and my decision to be grateful regardless of the trials I may face that day. 

Sirach 2:1-2 says, “My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials.  Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in times of adversity.”

This is the heart of our decision to live joyfully each day.  God promises us that we will face hardship.  Some days are more difficult than others, but we are called to remain steadfast – that is, to stand firm – in our resolution to follow Christ, especially when things do become challenging.  We show God our level of commitment to Him by how we respond to adversity. 

Another important lesson I've learned recently is the influence our first decision each day has on the outcome of our day as a whole.  If, as disciples, our first thought each morning is one of pessimism and disdain, odds are the rest of our day will be affected by this initial thought.  It makes the meaning of "waking up on the wrong side of the bed" a reality for us. 

I understand not everyone is a morning person and by no means am I implying that a single negative thought means someone is in the wrong.  I do, however, think it is something to be consciously aware of as we go throughout our day.  Ask yourself periodically: Is my heart oriented towards Christ or am I giving too much power to the desires of the flesh which are contrary to those of God's (Galatians 5:17)?

I leave you with a few lyrics from a song written by a good friend of mine that reflects a heart oriented toward God in good times and in bad:

            "Waking up singing that song on the radio,

            Never gonna stop singing praise to the Father who,

            Gave His only Son so that I could be made new.

            Never gonna stop, never gonna stop.

            Jumping up and down with the joy that's inside of me,

            Singing this song, a love for eternity,

            How could I ever deny what's a part of me?

            Never gonna stop."

Choosing joy every morning is rarely the easy thing to do, but Christ conquered death and gave us the freedom to rise above the temptation to be bitter and have a negative outlook on life.  He desires for us to choose Him even when the inclinations of our flesh would rather we focus on ourselves. 

Remember, it's going to be a great day.