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
1 comment:
Michele, I like the way you smash the popular belief that feelings happen to you and you can't do anything about them. How right you are that how we feel results from what we decide. It makes me think of Paul's directive, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." So, preach on, sister!
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