Wouldn't You Rather Be Happy?

I know we are approaching the season of celebration, family, and giving. Yet, it seems that during this time, some of us struggle to even crack a smile.

For many of us, there are days where smiling would take as much effort as running a marathon.

Let's be honest though, those days are not every day.

So if you are struggling to get happy and stay happy, I hope to help.

Let me start off by saying, smiling is not happiness. People who smile when they are unhappy, look like someone who is lifting something very heavy.

You aren't fooling anyone.

You aren't helping yourself either. In Proverbs 17:22 it says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." 

God isn't asking us to fake it. Joy is more than just the impression we give those around us. Our end goal is not to make people see us as a joyful person. Joy is for us too.

As this verse in Proverbs eludes to; joy builds us up physically, emotionally and spiritually. A lack of joy has the reverse affect. It kills us from the inside.

Part of the difficulty in finding joy in our life, is many of us attach joy to circumstance. If things are good, we feel good, if things are bad, we feel bad.

That is not a good way to live.

We are putting the control of our health in the hands of chance and circumstance.

Chance and circumstance are not your friends, they don't care about you.

In the Bible there are quite a few verses that instruct us to be joyful whether in all kinds of circumstances; Romans 12:2, James 1:2, Philippians 4:4, and 1 Thessalonians 5:16.

God wants us to detach our happiness from chance and circumstance.

Why?

True joy, true happiness comes with being close to God. We can be close to Him regardless of what's going on.

In Psalms 16:11 it says, "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. 

Joy comes from being in God's presence. As we walk through life close to Him, we are constantly reminded of the love of God. We are never alone. When we can remember that, when we can keep that on our mind, we will have joy.

So stop trying to force a smile, it isn't working; and stop looking for happiness in circumstance. Circumstances change all the time.

Find your joy in God's presence, He will give you perfect joy.

Sure, control over your circumstances would be nice, but when you think about it, wouldn't you rather be happy?