Happiness Begins Within

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
(Proverbs 23:7)

 Thought For Today

I often see people who seem weighed down with sadness and lacking real happiness. It is as though they are waiting for someone else to come along and make them happy. Others speak longingly of the “good old days” and the things they once did that brought them joy. But now, because they are older, they feel those days are behind them—and with them, their happiness.

This way of thinking shows up early in life. Parents may tell their children to go outside and play, only to hear a reply like:

·         “There is nothing out there to do.”

·         “It’s boring out there!”

These words reveal an important truth: our outlook often shapes our experience more than our surroundings do.

Solomon said, “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” In other words, the condition of the heart influences the condition of the life. Arthur Schopenhauer, a nineteenth-century German philosopher, expressed a similar thought when he said, “The happiness which we receive from ourselves is greater than that which we obtain from our surroundings.”

As believers, we know something even greater: joy comes with the Holy Ghost. Paul reminded Timothy of the sincere faith that dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, and he said he was persuaded that the same faith was in Timothy as well (2 Timothy 1:5). In other words, what Timothy needed was already within him.

The same is true for us. The only person who can keep you from walking in happiness is you. So put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, lift up your hands in praise, and let the joy God has placed within you rise up again.