This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24
Life is full of obligations. It begins in childhood when we discover we have to pick up our rooms, do our homework, eat our vegetables and brush our teeth. And the list of “have-to’s” gets even longer when we reach adulthood and have to show up for work, provide for our families, mow our lawns, maintain our homes and pay our ever-present bills. Most people learn to tolerate these obligations, realizing they are part of being a responsible human. But it’s still easy to slip into negative mindsets about these necessary tasks and find our joy vanishing.
This is one of the reasons the Bible tells us to rejoice in each day we’re given—even while tackling our obligations. We can do this by cultivating gratitude in our thinking. If we shift how we view obligations from being burdens to being blessings—or from being “have-to’s” to being “get-to’s,” with practice we can unleash a new, more positive outlook and find our joy skyrocketing as a result.
Instead of thinking of paying my bills as something I have to do—a chore that I dread—I can begin to see it as something I get to do because God has supplied my needs. My focus has shifted to being grateful. And, instead of having to mow my lawn, I get to mow it because I have a body that’s able (so thankful for that) and I may just have an opportunity to chat with my neighbor in the process. Even in our most challenging situations, we can cultivate mindsets toward the positive, noticing the good things and being thankful.
By renewing our minds with gratitude we turn “have-to’s” into “get-to’s” and change burdens into blessings.
CLOSING PRAYER
Father in heaven, renew our minds with a fresh perspective of gratitude, as we recognize Your abundant blessings in our lives and strengthen our mental and emotional well-being as we take greater joy in all the things we do.