“Just Be Happy”…one of the most annoying, yet simplest pieces of advice I have received in my life. This little piece of advice was given to me about a year ago from my father when I was going through a pretty difficult time in my life. As I laid out my troubled heart at the dinner table, feeling as though no one could possibly know what I was going through, I stubbornly rambled on and on about how my life was in shambles. As the stories continued to flow from my lips and then suddenly stop, moments of silence filled the room, as if my father was trying to compress his profound thoughts. As I sat in anger, wallowing in my sorrows, I perked up a bit as my father began to speak. The following words that came from his mouth, made the anger in my heart rise to my eyes making them glare. “Just be happy,” my father said and continued to finish his dinner.
I remember leaving the table that evening thinking, “what a novel idea (in my most sarcastic tone).” Why hadn’t I thought of that! Just be happy.
As the weeks passed and the anger and bitterness in my heart helped to brighten peoples days (did I mention I was sarcastic?), those three little words scrolled through my mind. Finally, when the bitterness overflowed in my heart and finally made me drop to my knees, as I cried out to the only one I knew truly understood the heart of the matter, I realized that being happy was a choice. Choosing to be happy & claim joy in all circumstances is a choice I have been given to make on a daily basis and in every situation. Such simple advice, yet so profound.
At church this past sunday, Pastor continued his series on “Joy in the Journey”, as he talked about having ‘Joy in Suffering’. The heart of the message came out of the book of Philippians chapter 1, where Paul was encouraging the church in Philipi to press through. Paul is not telling the church to be happy, but because joy is apart of his lifestyle and not just an emotion, happiness becomes infectious. As Paul was writing this letter from his jail cell, in which he was placed for sharing his joy he had found in Jesus, you can just picture his gleaming face as he encourages the church that although things aren’t looking up for him, the message of Christ is spreading and what some people meant for destruction, God has turned into utter joy.
The key line that struck my heart this past sunday was when Pastor softly said, “Joy is our birth right…. in the midst of the worst situation or circumstance, YOU can find joy, not as an emotion, but a lifestyle.” Joy is our birth right. Freely given and can never run out. Jesus died on the cross so that we could have life and life to the fullest and as far as I’m concerned, you are not fully experiencing life until you allow joy to become part of your lifestyle. The Devil would love nothing less than to steal our joy and make us miserable. In the book of Deuteronomy, there’s a verse that says, “Today I lay before you life and death, blessing and a curse….choose life, choose blessings!” (my paraphrase) God has given us free will…..choices. Nehemiah 8:10 proclaims, “the joy of the Lord is YOUR strength”. When you feel you can’t go on, when life gets too tough, when circumstances arise….JUST BE HAPPY! It’s your choice, His joy will give you strength to press on and get you through.
Not much of a Dutch! 
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