Which comes first … happiness or a smile?More than once something has happened to ‘put me’ in a good mood … and that will lead me to smile a little more, have a little more bounce in my step, and be a little more patient with bad traffic and cranky people. Then, another day something will ‘put me’ in a bad mood, and I’ll be a bit more pouty, drag a little slower and be a little cranky. My level of happiness is the cause … what I do and how I react is the effect.
But that’s not what God says. “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24. It says ‘rejoice’ then ‘be glad’ … not the other way around. Webster defines rejoice as ‘be overjoyed, celebrate …’ So, what does that tell us? Celebrate first; be overjoyed FIRST, then be glad in it. The smile comes first … happiness follows.
Happiness is what comes when we chose to rejoice in the Lord. In other words, happiness is a choice. Oh wait, that’s a scary thought! Happiness is a choice … which means, by contrast, grouchiness is a choice, too.
But I don’t feel happy … I had a rough day, traffic was bad … how can I be happy if I don’t feel happy. Make a choice. If you were offered, would you choose a flower or a weed? You would reach out and take the rose over the crabgrass. So reach out and take happiness over grouchiness. Each day offers the 
opportunity to have a good day or a bad day. Remember, God said “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, Hebrews 13:5. With a promise like that, how bad can it be?
Make the choice … the rest will follow. Say it out loud ‘I chose to be happy’. Then smile and say good morning to someone … you might be surprised what follows. Rejoice … gladness will follow.
Have a happy day! J
