Happiness is a choice

When I was at the soup kitchen the other night volunteering, the pastor showed a video about choice. This video was a talk given by a Christian writer whose books sold millions of copies. In the video, the elderly speaker told a story of a homeless man. This homeless man was wondering down the street one day and he was just miserable. He had lost his wife, his daughter, his job, his house, his reputation...He saw through the window of a pawn shop a gun on sale for $29. He reached into his pocket and he found 3 ten dollar bills. So he said, here is the answer to all my problems, I could just end all this misery right now. Then the speaker said: "I'm glad I didn't buy that gun, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here today". Instead, he used that $30 to buy a typewriter, and it is with that typewriter that he wrote his bestsellers. Then the speaker ended his talk reminding the audience that life is about choices, you can choose to live or to die.

This video got me thinking about choices in life. Although God is a sovereign god, He gives us choices in life.

 "Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death." Jeremiah 21:8

Note that He doesn't make us choose one particular way, He sets the options before us so we could select it ourselves. He just gives us the information to make informed choices. I don't think this concept of choice applies to just life and death, it also applies to other choices we make in life as well. God makes it clear what He wants us to do in different situations, but what we choose to do is dependent on us.

This was a great message for me because recently I've been praying for joy as I go through my difficulties. But it seems like my prayer has not been answered. I haven't had much joy and I was getting more and more frustrated. This message was a slap in the face for me because I realized that I haven't had joy not because God haven't given it to me, but it's because I didn't choose to have joy. David reminded us that God is a giver of joy.

"You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." Psalm 4:7

Here is God willingly putting joy in my heart, but here I am choosing to do certain things or think things that makes me sad. I've said to my friends that I feel like I'm going in circles with my emotions. Some days are good, but it always feels like I'm ending up where I started, at the emotional low point. Although I'm going in bigger circles as time goes on, but I'm always returning to the starting point. Now God has reminded me that I don't need to go in circles, I can actually step out of the circle and go in a straight line! All I need to do is to choose to step out of the circle, to choose to be happy, then I can rejoice with indescribable joy.

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24