“Happiness can be learned.”
When God says: “Arise, shine…” (Isaiah 60:1 ESV), what do you think it takes to do that, friend? Yes, it also takes “happiness.”
Because how can you shine if you’re not happy? I’ll never forget when a speaker at a women’s event with over 1,000 women walked onto the stage and said:
“Help me out for a moment, I’ve been traveling so much. Where am I again? Oh, wait, don’t say anything. When I look at your faces, this must be a church. Everyone looks so unhappy.”
Oh, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! How could she dare say that? And then, honestly, I thought about it and looked around and… it was true. Many people were simply—and probably for good reasons—sad. Oh, and then I looked in the mirror, and what I saw was a forced smile. Because at that time, I was going through a difficult breakup, too...
friend, honestly, aren’t we always going through some hard times? Isn’t there always a reason to say, “I can’t shine right now, I don’t feel like it”? So why does God expect us to rise and shine? Doesn’t He know what’s going on?
friend, God does know what’s going on and He also knows that through this darkness, His light will shine—because EVERYTHING is possible for Him!
“Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked … But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)
This simply means: “You’ll find a reason for joy, even in your biggest challenges, if you seek it in God’s Word. Open the Bible again and again. Especially when you don’t feel like it. Because God wants to give you joy through that!”
Otherwise, He wouldn’t have said: “God blesses those who mourn(!), for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 NLT)
If God promises joy to those who mourn and grieve, then His joy is for you, too, if you just believe!
friend, while you seek Him, He will show Himself (see Jeremiah 29:13 NLT) through a joy that remains even in tough times—because God drives out all darkness.
You are a miracle!
