This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24, King James Version (KJV)

We’ve had a LOT of rain in my area lately, so much so that we’ve been hard pressed to see an all-day sunny day for almost two weeks. Yesterday, when remarking to someone about the amount of rain we’ve received, the comment I got back was pretty negative. It went something like, “I’m sick and tired of all of this rain!” I almost agreed, but instead I said, “Well, between rainy weather and drought conditions, like they’re having in California, I’ll take rainy any day!” The other person quickly agreed.

I, like the person I was talking to, often complain about my circumstances. But during that brief discussion, the Lord reminded me of Psalm 118:24. Every day is a day that the Lord has made, and every day has something about it that we can rejoice about. The question is, will we choose to see the good in the day, or we will choose to focus on the ill?

Being glad or being sad usually boils down to an act of will. You can’t always control your circumstances, but you can usually control how you respond to them. You can decide to brood over the inconvenience of things not being perfect. Or, you can decide to focus on God’s goodness and mercy in the circumstances you are facing. Remember, God commands us to give Him glory in everything we do, and I think it’s safe to say that thanking Him for the good things in our day bring Him a whole lot more glory than complaining about the things we don’t like.