I awoke and dreaded the day. With a sigh, I slouched from beneath the warm, cozy covers, wishing to pull the cotton up to my chin and close my eyes again. As if I could possibly shut out the world and the hard things scheduled to take place that day.
God knew my heart and my thoughts as I mentally grumbled to myself.
Following routine, I opened my devotional app. Yes, the Lord has a way of reminding me when I need an attitude adjustment.
Psalm 118:24 was the verse for the day. This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (NLT)
I read it and quickly drew a breath. Ooh, I felt a punch right between the eyes. I had not rejoiced or thanked God for the day.
I felt convicted.
Joy is not meant to simply be a feeling. Joy is a state. Sometimes I find myself naturally in a state of joy.
And sometimes, I need to choose joy.
But I was not happy about the current situation and was stubbornly refusing to choose joy that morning. I felt like a toddler having a self-justified, mental temper-tantrum.
But the verse says we rejoice because God made the day. That day is a gift from Him. We rejoice as a way of thanking Him for the gift of another day.
The day may be beautifully sunny, and we may experience fantastically sweet interactions with our favorite people. By sundown we may proclaim it was the best day ever!
Or we may awaken to thunderstorms and grumpy people and messes everywhere to clean.
Either way, in both scenarios God gave us a gift of another day. A day He created. For us. We can rejoice and be glad for another day.
As I thought about that concept and prayed, I asked God to reframe my thinking. I asked Him to allow me to surrender my grumpiness and displeasure and restore a positive attitude. I knew I would face hard things that day.
But God created that day. Living another day was a gift from Him.
How about you? How do you handle hard days? Are you able to rejoice when rising, knowing the tough things planned for the coming hours? Please share how you do this!
God promised to help us when we ask. He promises to supply every need we have, including the need to want to change an attitude. Will you join me in asking for His help with just that?
Prayer: Dear God, I need Your help in establishing the right attitude in hard things. Please help me not get so caught up in the events and plans of the day that I forget to see the gift You gave me in creating this day. Thank You for Psalm 118:24, reminding me how great a gift it is to thank You for the day. Thank You for helping me remember this, In Jesus’ name, Amen.