Don’t Wait Until You Feel Happy

"The secret of joy is not to wait until you feel happy, but to rise, by an act of faith, out of the depression which is dragging you down and begin to praise God as an act of choice. This is the meaning of such passages as these: Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4). I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice (Philippians 1:18). Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (James 1:2). In all these cases there is an evident struggle with sadness and then the triumphs of faith and praise.

This is what is meant-at least in part-by the sacrifice of praise. A sacrifice is that which costs us something. And when a man or woman has some cherished grudge or wrong and is harbouring it, nursing it, dwelling on it, and quite determined to enjoy a miserable time in selfish grumbling, it costs us no little sacrifice to throw off the morbid spell, to rise out of the mood of self-commiseration in wholesome and holy determination and say, I will rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:18); I will count it all joy (James 1:2)."

A.B.Simpson - Days of Heaven on Earth

 

Yesterday, I came across this little devotional by A. B. Simpson. What a blessing, and also a rebuke to my sometimes unjoyful heart.

We are all so guilty at times of choosing misery over happiness. Why is that? I think it is because we choose to pay more attention to our circumstances than to God. And for some reason, we seem to enjoy playing the victim and we wallow in our misery and sorrow because maybe it’s easier than making the choice to praise God. Or maybe we just want attention and sympathy from those around us. Whatever the reason, it’s just an excuse.  

If we are continually fixing our eyes on our pain, our trouble, and our disappointments, it will drain us. We will find ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually drained of all life.

We can’t wait until we feel happy, to be happy. Feelings are not to be relied upon. They are so fickle. We have to rise, in an act of faith, out of our pits of despair, trusting in God, waiting on Him, rejoicing during the trial, determined to choose joy whether we feel it or not. We choose to rejoice because of what we know of God.

He is righteous. He is holy. He is the giver of all good things. We are not alone. God is with us. He loves us unconditionally. We have eternal security. He will bring us through. He will use our experiences to mature us, if we respond correctly to his workings in our lives.

I love these verses in Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 KJV - Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

I love that the writer sees that things are not going as expected. All looks miserable. And yet, he chooses to rejoice. He makes a determined choice to joy in the God of his salvation.

Nobody wants to be miserable all of the time. Everyone has a desire to be happy and to experience joy and peace. And the way to get that peace, is through gratitude to God.

A very well-known passage in Philippians exhorts us to pray with thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:6-7 KJV - Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

It tells us to not be anxious but give thanks. And the result of this is peace - peace that passeth all understanding! God never promises that he will take away all pain and suffering, but he does promise peace. (John 16:33) If we have a personal relationship with the Lord, we can experience this peace. The troubles may remain, but calm can overwhelm our soul.

And there is no way we can rejoice always, if we are not thankful.

1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18 KJV - Rejoice evermore. ... In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Thankfulness focuses our attention on God rather than our circumstances, and when we show continual gratitude to God, we can rejoice. Not because our troubles are over, but because he brings peace to our hearts.

It all begins with a choice. A choice to be happy. A choice to climb up out of the darkness and take the hand God is holding out to us, hold fast to his promises and believe that he can and that he will carry our burdens.

We never have to worry that our problems are too big for him. Nothing is impossible with God and that includes whatever we’re dealing with right now. If he wants to calm the storm, he is powerful enough to do it. But if he chooses to keep the storm raging and calm your heart, he can do that too.

What an awesome God!

We are instructed in the Word of God to offer a sacrifice of praise.

Hebrews 13:15 KJV - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Yes, sometimes praise is a sacrifice. We don’t feel like it, but we choose to offer up worship and praise to God. It costs us. We have to push aside our fears and our anxieties and sacrifice the feelings of dread and sadness we harbour and choose to put on a cloak of thankfulness and raise our hearts in worship to the only one worthy of our praise.

And did you notice that the verse says, continually? Yes. That’s even harder to do. Praise continually. Despite the circumstances. It’s a sacrifice, but it’s such a blessing when God sees our hearts and knows we are making a sacrifice and choosing him. We don’t feel joy, but he sees our determination, and he floods our souls with peace and the feelings soon follow. Pretty soon, we actually feel joyful.

Do you know what I mean by ‘the feelings soon follow’? Personally, I have found, that when I am tired, and the last thing I want to do is go out on a Wednesday night to the weekly prayer meeting, and I make a determined choice to go despite my ‘feelings’, that God works a small miracle.

As I pray with other believers, I am encouraged. I am fed by the Word of God preached and I begin to be thankful for all the blessings others share. Often my problems pale into insignificance as I hear others ask prayer for loved ones in dire circumstances, facing insurmountable obstacles. And by the end of the night, I am so glad I made the effort to go, and I am left with a feeling of joy and gladness and thankfulness to the Lord.

My feelings weren’t coming along for the ride at the beginning, but by the end, that ‘joy’ feeling had hopped on board.

Now, I know feelings aren’t everything, but it’s such an encouragement to my heart that God can turn our frowns into smiles when we choose to rejoice.

Those verses in Habakkuk show determination. “I will rejoice. I will joy.” A choice.

Philippians 1:18 KJV - What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Psalm 9:2 KJV - I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

Psalm 31:7 KJV - I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;

So many verses in the Bible give us examples of people choosing to rejoice. It’s not always easy, but when we stop and think about all of God’s blessings that he pours into our lives, we shouldn’t be able to contain our joy.

Our joy and our praise and our worship should overflow from a heart of thankfulness. If we took the time to count our blessings, name them one by one, maybe we would be ashamed at all the times we spend in despondency when we have so much to thank God for.

Make a choice.

Choose joy.