Description
I knew this African American man who was a painter for our school. Over the years, as I got to know him, I found out about some of the troubles he was facing in his life. We both worked for a non-profit Christian school, and they could not afford to pay laborers very well. As a result, he lived paycheck to paycheck. The car he was driving was old, rusted, and held together by duct tape, and he had no way to fix it. Nor did he have the money to send his teenage kids to college. To top it all off, he was facing health challenges because of the paint fumes he was constantly breathing in every day. Yet despite these worries, he never showed it on his face. Indeed, one of the things that drew me to him was his constant smile and joyful demeanor. He had a way about him that was contagious, and you could not help but walk away smiling after talking with him.
One day I asked him how he could keep a smile on his face despite all the terrible things he was facing in his life. He said, “I learned a long time ago that happiness is not a salary, a place, or a person you are with. Happiness is a choice. There is so much in my life that I can’t control, but one thing I can control is how I approach my life each day. Christ has given me so much. How can I not be happy?” I was floored. Here I was living a relatively healthy life, earning a livable wage while driving a new car, yet I was miserable all the time. I should have been comforting him, and instead, he was comforting me every day without knowing it.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. If happiness is a choice, then I choose joy.
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Verses
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Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
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Proverbs 17:22: A cheerful heart brings good healing, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
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Psalm 118:24: This is the day the LORD has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it.
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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
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Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!
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Psalm 126:3: The LORD did indeed accomplish great things for us. We were happy.
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1 Samuel 2:2: No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one other than you! There is no rock like our God!
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Romans 14:17: For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
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Psalm 70:4: May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you! May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, "May God be praised!"
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Psalm 28:7: The LORD strengthens and protects me; I trust in him with all my heart. I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to him in gratitude.
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John 16:33: I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage - I have conquered the world."
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Acts 2:25-28: For David says about him, 'I saw the Lord always in front of me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body also will live in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor permit your Holy One to experience decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of joy with your presence.'
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Isaiah 61:10: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; I will be overjoyed because of my God. For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would; I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry.
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Psalm 4:7-8: You make me happier than those who have abundant grain and wine. I will lie down and sleep peacefully, for you, LORD, make me safe and secure.
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Psalm 5:11-12: But may all who take shelter in you be happy! May they continually shout for joy! Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice! Certainly you reward the godly, LORD. Like a shield you protect them in your good favor.
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Psalm 16:9-11: So my heart rejoices and I am happy; My life is safe. You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit. You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight.
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Psalm 33:20-21: We wait for the LORD; he is our deliverer and shield. For our hearts rejoice in him, for we trust in his holy name.
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Romans 5:1-2: Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God's glory.
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John 16:21-22: When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
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Habakkuk 3:17-19: When the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce, and the fields yield no crops; when the sheep disappear from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls, I will rejoice because of the LORD; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me! The sovereign LORD is my source of strength. He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. (This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)
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Psalm 37:4: Then you will take delight in the LORD, and he will answer your prayers.
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1 Chronicles 16:24-27: Tell the nations about his splendor, tell all the nations about his miraculous deeds! For the LORD is great and certainly worthy of praise, he is more awesome than all gods. For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the LORD made the heavens. Majestic splendor emanates from him, he is the source of strength and joy.
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1 Peter 1:3-6: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God's power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials.
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Psalm 94:19: When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me happy.
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Psalm 30:11: Then you turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.
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2 Corinthians 12:9-10: But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
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Luke 10:17-20: Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!" So he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven."
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James 1:2-4: My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.
Text used with permission – http://bible.org/
Notes
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Verse set info
Created on Apr 28, 2021.
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