Are We Happy Yet?

But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Psalm 68:3 (NIV)

In my book “Surviving Affliction And Depression” I have a chapter titled: Are We Happy Yet? The premise is that as Christians we are expected to be happy. Yet how can we be happy when we are suffering, when our days are clouded with pain, and misery is our constant companion?

It is a terrific challenge to the child of God to find happiness when living with afflictions. Thankfully, happiness is not a feeling but it is a choice. Happiness can affect our feelings, but as someone once said: You are only as happy as you decide to be. Yet it can be hard to choose happiness when encompassed with pain.

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Ecclesiastes 7:14a (NIV)

The verse above is the key to holding onto happiness despite our circumstances: by knowing that God is in control. When we have faith that God is in control of our circumstances we can choose to be happy even when things look very bad. When God holds our circumstances in His hand we know that everything will work to our good in the end (Romans 8:28).

You may not be very happy today, yet I encourage you to take your eyes off of your circumstances and instead look to God. Know that He hold your future in His hands and will help you through everything that comes your way.

When you are tempted to be unhappy because of all the troubles in your life, recall everything the Lord has already brought you through, and hold on to hope that He will see you through your current circumstances. Nothing is too hard for God, no problem too big for Him to deal with. Knowing this, we can be happy whatever comes our way in life.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life throws so many hardships our way. Deliver us and enable us to be happy through all of our trials because You will see us through them. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017