Happiness is a choice . . .

By The Standard | Apr. 9, 2017

For most people, however, happiness is elusive. To make it even more elusive, many Christians have been told that holiness and happiness just don’t go together. That’s because in the church, there has been an emphasis placed on Jesus as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:5)

Everyone longs for happiness, but few possess it.

gracetidings with dr doug mamvura

However, that is not the whole story. The same Bible that says Jesus suffered also says He was anointed with the oil of gladness above everyone else and that the joy of the Lord is our strength

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness, therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Hebrews 1:9)

“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

No joy — no strength. This is one of the reasons we have a lot of weak Christians. So, is true happiness obtainable? And if so, how do we get it?

First, let me say there are many scriptures that command us to rejoice and be glad (Psalms 32:11, 40:16, 68:3, 70:4, to list a few). Some specifically command rejoicing in the midst of trouble (Psalms 34:1, Matthew 5:12, and John 16:33). The people of Israel were even punished because they didn’t serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart for the abundance of all the things the Lord had done.

Keep Reading

“Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48).

So, if joy was a command and people were punished for not rejoicing, then happiness is something we can control. Otherwise, the Lord would have been unjust in commanding us to do it.

Today people think happiness is a result, instead of a choice. They believe that if they didn’t have any problems and if they had an abundance of good things, happiness would be the inevitable result. That’s not true.

Happiness isn’t a state of being; it’s a state of mind. A person can be happy when everyone and everything around them is in turmoil. They can be content no matter what the financial or physical conditions might be. True happiness and contentment isn’t dependent upon circumstances.

Therefore, our state of happiness should never be affected by circumstances if we really know the Word.

The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians while he was in prison in Rome. He had been in prison for two years in Israel, one year in transit to Rome and an undisclosed amount of time in Rome. He was facing possible execution.

Yet, his letter to the Philippians is the happiest letter of any he wrote. He mentioned rejoicing 17 times in this short letter. How could this be? What was Paul’s secret? The book of Philippians gives us the keys Paul used to obtain such success.

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

Notice that contentment is something the Apostle Paul learned. It didn’t come naturally or without effort. Likewise, contentment, which is a major component of happiness, has to be learned. It doesn’t come on us like a seizure, and we don’t catch it like a cold. It is an acquired trait.

How do we acquire happiness? First, we need to deal with what’s on the inside. Most people take a different approach. They want to deal with the outside.

There is a difference between a thermometer and a thermostat. A thermometer measures temperature while a thermostat regulates temperature. As believers, we are called to be thermostats, not thermometers. We have the ability to control circumstances no matter what challenges we may be facing because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

There is no external force that is greater than the power of God inside of us. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

You can’t always control what goes on outside, but you can totally control what goes on inside. When you understand that, you will have discovered one of the greatest keys to happiness. In addition, you will be on your way to eliminating grief in your life.

One of the most liberating things in the world is to love someone else more than yourself. And when the one you love more is God, you will rejoice when He is glorified, even if that happens through your suffering.

That’s what Paul did. In Philippians: 1, the Apostle Paul was trying to comfort the Philippians. These were special people to Paul, and he was special to them. In Philippians 4:15-16, Paul said the Philippians were the only church that ever gave to him after he left their area. They did this not only once, but they did it twice and would have partnered with him more if they had known where he was.

He wanted to assure them that everything was all right with him. How did he do that? He told them that all his suffering had furthered the kingdom of God.

In Philippians 1:12-18 Paul stated that, the suffering that he experienced happened for the furtherance of the gospel.

That says volumes! Paul loved God and the furtherance of His kingdom more than he loved himself. If the kingdom of God was better off because of Paul’s imprisonment, then it was all worth it. What a great attitude. We would do well to adopt it.

When God and others are more important to you than yourself, then you are well on your way to happiness. But if you are all wrapped up in yourself, you make a very small package. And therein lies the number one obstacle to contentment and happiness.

Most people are addicted to self, like addicts are to drugs. They are never satisfied. And this self-centred dissatisfaction is Satan’s greatest open door for temptation. He used self-interest to tempt Adam and Eve, even though they lived in a perfect world without a single problem (Genesis 3:3-5).

Second, we need to deal with what’s outside, our circumstances. Paul gave great insight into how to do that in 2 Corinthians 4:17, which says,

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all…” Paul said his affliction was only light. He didn’t say that because he didn’t have problems.

You can read a list of his “light afflictions” in 2 Corinthians 11:23-30. The list includes beatings with whips and rods, prison, shipwreck, hunger and thirst because of his mission work, and many more. So, how can we speak about our heavy load when Paul called all his problems, which were much worse than anything we have suffered, just light afflictions?

You see, it’s not your problems that are the problem; it’s the way you see your problems and the value you place on them that makes them a problem. Paul said all his afflictions were but for a moment. That was saying they were short-lived compared to eternity. Paul put everything into the perspective of eternity.

Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or Twitter @dougmamvura