How to be Happy
Happiness
is a universal pursuit. There is no language,
culture, race, or religion that doesn't
share this common goal. Everyone wants to
be happy. God made us this way. It is God's
will for us to be happy.
Why
then are so many people unhappy? Are you
truly happy?
In
America, billions of dollars each year are
spent on entertainment, sports, luxury items,
and many time-saving devices which are supposed
to increase our sense of enjoyment, resulting
in more happiness. But it's not working.
People
today, with all their advantages, aren't
happier than people of a generation or two
ago. In fact, people are more unhappy today
than ever. You can prove that by looking
at our suicide rate, drug abuse, and prescriptions
for anti-depressants. What's happening?
Is true happiness really an obtainable goal?
Are we wrong in pursuing happiness?
It
will come as a complete shock to many people
what the Scriptures have to say on the subject
of our happiness. For instance, most
people picture Jesus as a sad person, or
at least not what we would call a happy
person. Happiness and holiness don't go
together in most people's minds.
It
is true that Jesus was "a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief" (Is. 53:3).
But,
He was also anointed with the oil of gladness
above all His fellows:
"God...hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows" (Heb. 1:9).
That
means Jesus was happier than anyone of His
day. It is not bad to be glad!
Jesus
knew sorrow and grief, but it was in the
same way that we experience those emotions
for others we love when they are hurting.
Jesus wasn't depressed or sad over His problems.
He took OUR sorrow and bore OUR grief just
as He bore OUR sin. Jesus was not long faced.
Jesus was happy.
Luke
10:21 says,
"In
that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit."
The
Greek word used in that verse for "rejoiced"
is "agalliao", which means "to jump for
joy" (Strong's). This is the same Greek
word that was used in 1 Peter 1:8 when Peter
said, "Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory."
Jesus
probably didn't physically jump for joy
just because the Scripture said He "rejoiced
in spirit." But this does describe an exuberance
on Jesus' part. The 1828 Webster Dictionary
of the English language defines "rejoice"
as, "to experience joy and gladness in a
high degree; to be exhilarated with lively
and pleasurable sensations; to exult." Jesus
was happy.
When
was the last time you truly rejoiced in
the Lord?
Many
Christians have been taught that being "burdened"
is holy. They force themselves to never
let happiness dominate them because they
feel they should be in a constant state
of sorrow and repentance over the condition
of our world. But that is not what the Scriptures
teach. Paul said,
"Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God"
(Phil. 4:6).
We
should "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise: be thankful
unto him, and bless his name" (Ps. 100:4).
The
yoke of Jesus is easy, and His burden is
light (Matt. 11:30).
Nehemiah
8:10 says,
"Go
your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet,
and send portions unto them for whom nothing
is prepared: for this day is holy unto our
Lord: neither be ye sorry; FOR THE JOY OF
THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH" (emphasis
added).
We
are supposed to be rejoicing. That's our
strength. Those who are not rejoicing
are not strong, and this is one big
reason why people are fainting in the face
of today's adversity (Prov. 24:10).
UNHAPPINESS
= TEMPTATION
Think
about this: If you were the devil and you
wanted to entice Adam and Eve to sin, how
would you do it? After all, they were perfect
and living in a perfect world. You couldn't
tempt them with lust for someone other than
their mate — there wasn't anyone else.
You couldn't tempt them with money or things.
You couldn't make them bitter over the things
that had happened to them as a child. They
had never been children. They had never
had a problem. How do you tempt a person
like that?
What
Satan did was to focus their attention on
the only thing in all of creation that they
didn t have. And he told them that it was
because God was trying to keep them from
being like Him that He had forbidden them
to partake of this one fruit. Through this,
Satan actually made Adam and Eve unhappy
with what they had, and they longed for
more. Unhappiness with their situation was
a big part of the temptation.
Satan
used unhappiness to entice Adam and Eve
into sin. If he wouldn't have been able
to make them dissatisfied with what they
had, they would never have yielded to his
sin.
It's
the same with us. Lack of contentment is
always the first step in temptation. Eliminate
this step through learning to be happy and
content, and temptation is D.O.A.—
"dead on arrival."
If
Satan could make perfect people living in
a perfect world unhappy, then certainly
he can make imperfect people living in a
fallen world unhappy. If they weren't content
with the things that they had, we will never
find contentment in the things that we have.
As
Jesus said,
"Take
heed, and beware of covetousness: for a
man's life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesseth" (Luke
12:15).
And
dissatisfaction isn't limited to just an
absence of physical things. There is the
temptation to not be satisfied with what
Jesus has given us too. John 14:7-8 states:
"If
ye had known me, ye should have known my
Father also: and from henceforth ye know
him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto
him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth
us."
Jesus
just told His disciples that seeing Him
was seeing the Father. Philip immediately
said, "Show us the Father, and we will be
satisfied." Philip was saying he wasn't
satisfied with Jesus. But he thought if
he could see some physical manifestation
of God the Father, that would be good enough.
How
messed up can you get? If Jesus isn't enough,
what or who is?
Jesus'
disciples weren't satisfied with Him. They
wanted more. They wanted to see God, seated
in heaven with all the angelic hosts. They
weren't content with just Jesus.
Lest
we be too hard on Jesus' disciples, let
me say that this same attitude is very prevalent
in the church today. Everywhere I go I hear
people singing about how hungry for God
they are. They are desperate (which the
dictionary defines by using the word "hopeless")
for more of God. Yet Jesus said in John
6:35,
"He
that cometh to me shall never hunger; and
he that believeth on me shall never thirst."
This
is no different than what Jesus said to
His disciples. He was telling them He is
as good as it gets. But they weren't satisfied
with that. Sure, Jesus displayed the power
of God as no one in history ever had. But
they wanted more than just the physical
manifestation of Jesus. They wanted some
awesome display of the glory and majesty
of God. They didn't appreciate and fully
recognize what they had.
If
Adam and Eve became dissatisfied with perfection
and Jesus' disciples wanted more than just
Jesus, then what hope is there for us ever
being content? There is no hope of us being
truly happy if we are looking to carnal
things or even religious experiences to
give us happiness. Our happiness has to
be in a person who doesn't fluctuate. That's
Jesus. He is the same yesterday, today,
and forever (Heb. 13:8). Contentment
is not a state of being but a state of mind.
Paul
made an astonishing statement in Philippians
4:11. He said,
"I
have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content."
Happiness
is not something that happens to us. It
is something we learn. It takes effort and
practice. It has nothing to do with what
is happening to us but rather is dependent
on what is happening inside us. We can be
happy regardless of our outward circumstances.
If
that wasn't so, then the Lord would be totally
unjust to command us to "rejoice in the
Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil.
4:4).
And
David could never have said, "I will bless
the Lord at all times: his praise shall
continually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1).
Happiness
and contentment are choices based on knowledge
and are not just the results of positive
situations. Otherwise, how could a just
God hold us accountable for negative emotions?
Deuteronomy 28:47 tells us,
"Because
thou servest not the LORD thy God with joyfulness,
and with gladness of heart, for the abundance
of all things; Therefore..."
He
goes on to pronounce judgments against the
Israelites. Notice that the Lord specifically
said that these judgments were coming because
they hadn t served the Lord with joyfulness
and gladness of heart. This forever takes
positive emotions out of the realm of "nice
if we have them but not responsible if we
don't" into the category of being sin if
we are not rejoicing.
The
New Testament put it this way,
"Whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom, though
now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory"
(1 Pet. 1:8).
This
verse is saying that if we are in faith,
we will rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory. The only reason people don't
rejoice is because they aren't walking by
faith.
This
isn't saying only unbelievers are unhappy.
A person can put faith in Jesus for salvation
and be truly saved yet not have a faith
in Jesus that produces joy in his or her
life. Like Paul said, you have to learn
how to be happy (Phil. 4:11).
I
have a six-part album entitled How to
Be Happy that will share some of the
Bible's secrets to happiness. I consider
this to be an essential teaching that every
Christian should have. In these teachings,
I share the antidote to the hopelessness
and unhappiness that is so prevalent today.
I deal with questions people have about
discouragement and depression and discuss
whether this is just a sickness or a mental
choice. I specifically share Paul's secrets
to his contentment, as outlined in the book
of Philippians. I promise you, this is a
life-changing teaching.
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