Be Happy!

I awoke this morning with the words from Proverbs 17:22 reverberating through my thoughts:

“A merry heart does good like a medicine,

 but a broken spirit dries the bones.”  (NKJV)

As I meditated upon that verse I began to think about our time with our kids and Piper’s relatives up at the Sea Ranch.  Piper’s folks have rented houses up there for years, starting when both Piper and her sister were in their elementary or Junior High years.  When I started dating my wife I would drive up and spend a few days with her and the family.  After Piper and I married, followed a few years later by her sister’s wedding, the vacation times at Sea Ranch became a little less frequent, but was a part of our summer experiences when they were scheduled.

As I’ve mentioned before, my family always enjoyed the great outdoors, so our main family vacation was usually centered around a camping trip with the ensuing times of hiking, fishing, campfires, swimming in the lake or river and so on!  The time at the Sea Ranch was an additional holiday where we would go up for a few days toward the end of their week long adventure.

This year’s event was also in celebration of my in-laws 60^th wedding anniversary, so there was a big cook-out planned in one of the many picnic areas on the Sea Ranch property.  Piper’s aunt and uncle along with their family also came up for the day to enjoy the hot-dog feast which was to be held on the banks of the Gualala River under the shade of a grove of towering Coast Redwoods.  The weather turned out to be lovely and a good time was to be had by all.

During the time spend up there, I was on the alert to see how everyone would react and interact with my wife.  As I’ve mentioned before, her family had taken Piper’s situation very hard and reacted, during the first couple of years, with a wide range of negative words.  My sons and their cousin had been praying very aggressively for healing and restoration to occur on this trip.  Being as they are musicians and ministers, they organized a worship service for the family on the Friday night we had arrived.

While the first night was rather hard for me, the next day turned out to be a refreshing time as the majority of the family members received Piper with open arms and easily interacted and communicated with her.  Her folks still had a difficult time thinking that she was not able to recognize them.  My repeated attempts to help them to see Piper’s recognition through the twinkle in her eyes and the very visible smile that she displayed whenever they came into her presence seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.  What I have come to learn is that my responsibility now lies in the arena of dedicated prayer for them.  My daughter also saw the difficulties that they had with my wife and interceded on her behalf on many occasions throughout the day.

After getting up and beginning my Bible Study time this morning, I looked at Proverbs 17:22 in many different translations.  The one that really seemed to stand out was from the Good News Bible where it says: “Being cheerful keeps you healthy.  It is a slow death to be gloomy all the time.”  The word translated as “cheerful” is the word “merry” used in many of the other Bibles.  The word in the original Hebrew simply means “to be happy!”

As I look around at many of the people that I see on a daily basis, as well as a few of the family members that we spent time with this last week, I definitely see some “gloomy” individuals.  It is no surprise that these same people deal with sickness on a regular basis.  The writer of this proverb makes it clear that the solution to a gloomy existence comes from being cheerful or happy.  So how does one replace their gloomy countenance?  By focusing in on something greater than themselves and their own little world.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to “focus on Jesus the source and goal of our faith.”  (God’s Word ©).  Life for me right now would be filled with doom and despair if I did not have my faith and my focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of His word to carry me through to victory.  On Saturday morning, my wife and I sat in some comfortable chairs, enjoying the beautiful blue ocean outside our window as I read His words of healing to us.  Suddenly the anointing of God seemingly jumped from the pages of the book in my lap and I clearly saw my wife and I hiking up to the top of our favorite peak at our favorite State Park as a victory celebration for her healing.  My wife looked at me a little startled as my face must have come alive with the light of His word, and I almost shouted out what I had just seen.  Then we both began to laugh, thank Him and cry tears of joy at the same time!

So let me ask you… When is the last time that you had an experience like that?  When was the last time that you broke out into spontaneous laughter that instantly washed away any thoughts of doom, despair or gloom?  If it has been awhile, then I suggest that you change your focus.  The daily events that occur all around us are filled with the news of events that tend to drag us down, but God’s word is only filled with encouragement, His love, and His joy!  So… what will it be?  Remember “Being cheerful keeps you healthy.  It is a slow death to be gloomy all the time.” (Proverbs 17:22 GNB)

Have a cheerful day, stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”