"If you want to be happy, you have to be happy on purpose.
When you wake up, you can't just wait to see what kind of day you'll have.
You have to decide what kind of day you'll have."
Joel Osteen
Although I do believe that we need to make a choice and decide to be happy, there is so much more to true happiness than just making a choice.
During chemo I learned what the true source of happiness is. It was the week after chemo and to be perfectly honest with you, during those weeks my brain did not seem to function quite as well.
Maybe I was very distracted with my tummy being so sick. Anyway during this week normally my quiet time consisted of reading my devotional in my "Streams in the Dessert" book and prayer.
Well one day, several days after chemo I opened a book about prayer(the ABC's of Prayer) and read the chapter that I was on. It ended up being one of the best things that I did! In this chapter it spoke of praying for healing- and had a list of verses. So I began to look up each verse. And by opening my Bible and looking for treasure, I began to feel joy and happiness. And to be honest it had been a while since I had felt those feelings at such a great level. I felt joyful and it felt good.
So while I agree that we need to choose to be happy, I believe that true happiness comes only from God. And only when we spend time developing our relationship with Him are we able to receive the good and perfect gifts of joy, happiness, and peace.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is a gift from above,
and comes from down from the a Father oh lights,
with whom there is no variation of shadow of turning."
James 1:17
Although I do believe that we need to make a choice and decide to be happy, there is so much more to true happiness than just making a choice.
During chemo I learned what the true source of happiness is. It was the week after chemo and to be perfectly honest with you, during those weeks my brain did not seem to function quite as well.
Maybe I was very distracted with my tummy being so sick. Anyway during this week normally my quiet time consisted of reading my devotional in my "Streams in the Dessert" book and prayer.
Well one day, several days after chemo I opened a book about prayer(the ABC's of Prayer) and read the chapter that I was on. It ended up being one of the best things that I did! In this chapter it spoke of praying for healing- and had a list of verses. So I began to look up each verse. And by opening my Bible and looking for treasure, I began to feel joy and happiness. And to be honest it had been a while since I had felt those feelings at such a great level. I felt joyful and it felt good.
So while I agree that we need to choose to be happy, I believe that true happiness comes only from God. And only when we spend time developing our relationship with Him are we able to receive the good and perfect gifts of joy, happiness, and peace.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is a gift from above,
and comes from down from the a Father oh lights,
with whom there is no variation of shadow of turning."
James 1:17
The same happiness I feel reading GG Marquez.
ReplyDeleteThis is the third blog that I have visited this morning where the post is about the importance of reading God's Word to find happiness and hearing from Him!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing because that is just what the Lord has been trying to tell me this week...I've been so distracted!
God bless~ Lisa
Thank you for sharing this~both that real joy doesn't always depend on our outside circumstances, and that it comes only from God. What an encouragement!
ReplyDeleteAmen my friend.
ReplyDelete