Be joyful always(Prov 17:22)

A cheerful heart is good medicine; but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

We are told many times in our Christian life to smile, to be full of joy, to be happy even when terrible things happen to us. This is very difficult to do at times, because there are just times when we don’t want to laugh but cry. Some of us are good at giving thanks in all circumstances. But some of us complain and cry even when life is so good. Sometimes, cheerful people can be really annoying. It seems that nothing goes wrong for them but it makes me wonder, ‘are these persons' emotions genuine?’ How can one person be so happy all the time? We find ourselves more depressed than cheerful. But Proverbs tells us that it is absolutely necessary to have a cheerful heart.

Let’s look at our bible scripture today. There is a direct relationship between cheerfulness and a healthy body. A lot of research has been done on people who are happy. An optimist is someone who looks at the good side of things but a pessimist looks at the bad side of things. So an optimist sees the glass half full, and the pessimist sees the glass half empty. It has been shown that pessimists have a 25% higher risk of dying before the age of 65. But optimists recover themselves faster after serious medical operation. Optimists live about 7 years more than pessimists. These results came from years of research. So the bible is right when it says that pessimism, depression, unhappiness, makes your body deteriorate faster. We have an expression that says 'laughter is the best medicine.' As Christians we are sometimes so serious and afraid of making jokes. But as long as it doesn't hurt anyone and doesn't break any of God’s commandments, God gives us the freedom to laugh loudly. God has given us a sense of humor to use and to enjoy. It’s also even good to laugh out to ourselves. When we make silly mistakes, we are embarrassed and we try to hide it. But it’s healthy to laugh out to ourselves in that case. When we can’t laugh out to ourselves, that means we are too proud. We have to have the wisdom to laugh at the appropriate times. God gave us a sense of humor, and the ability to laugh so we should spend more time using it. When people look at us, can they see joy and peace and happiness, or do they just see worry and sadness is our faces?

And a cheerful heart can influence others. Proverbs 12:25 says like this... An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. I can think of many times when someone said something nice to me and it cheered me up instantly.

If you want to cheer others up, just you can say, "You can do it! Good job!" I don’t know why it is so difficult to say a kind word to someone. Perhaps we are jealous. We see someone who seems to have a great life, great hair, great family, great job, and the fact bothers us, so instead of saying something nice, we say something quite the opposite. Perhaps we just don’t know how to give sincere compliments to others. Words can kill a person, or lift him up. I would hate to be a famous person these days. Because of the internet, people can write anything they want and not take responsibility for their words. I know a few stars in Korea who committed suicide because of the irresponsibility of these words online. Words can truly damage a person’s reputation.

God is our head cheerleader. He gave us many words to encourage us in His Bible. And He wants us to be good cheerleaders to others as well. When people look at us, do they see cheerleaders, or do they see discouragers?

Not only the words we may say to others but also the way we look at someone can influence others as well. Prov 15:30 says, ‘a cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news health to the bones.’ When strangers smile at us, we have an instinct to smile back. But if we see someone looking angry and upset all the time, we may try to avoid these people. Our facial expressions are very powerful weapons. We can stick our tongue out to show we dislike someone. We can use a sleepy expression to show that we are bored. But a smile, a kind look, a cheerful way you look at someone, can influence people. So we should practice to make a cheerful expression on our faces, because some of us look angry all the time. So let us maintain a cheerful heart to heal people's crushed spirits.

We will be faced with difficult situations in our lives, whether it be a health problem, death of a loved one, financial problems or family problems. Whatever is the situation, it is important to keep a cheerful heart anyway. A cheerful heart has a continuous party. Prov 15:15 says... All of the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. A cheerful heart will attract good things. If you have a cheerful heart, it will draw people to you, because who wants to be friends with an unhappy person? A cheerful heart will attract more business. We would rather go to a restaurant or a store where the servers are cheerful. We would rather hire people who can smile and know how to be cheerful, rather than people who never smile. That’s why the bible says here there will be a continuous party. Not that bad things won’t happen, but in spite of all the bad things, a cheerful heart will be able to recover all things. A cheerful heart will also be able to have continual feasting with God.

If we find that we are not cheerful most of the time, then there is a possibility that we are either truly mentally sick, or spiritually sick. Because without a cheerful heart, we cannot love, forgive, or give thanks. An unhappy heart can become dangerous. An unhappy heart is resentful, bitter, and proud. We need to do a check once in a while. Am I cheerful?

As Christians, we all try to develop the fruit of the spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. But apart from those things, we need to develop and maintain a cheerful heart. Is your family cheerful? Are your friends cheerful? Are your children cheerful? Smiling takes an effort. A cheerful heart takes great effort. Prov 15:13 says, ‘a happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.’

Is there any reason for us not to be happy, not to be joyful, not to be cheerful in our christian lives? Think! And estimate all things God our father gave us. God saved us from our fatal sins and accepted us as his children. God gave us the gift of eternal life. we will live forever in heavenly kingdom. And He will protect us from all bad things. He will guide us in his good way. He will make a way for us where there seems to be no way. He will answer to our prayer whenever we ask to him. Then why can't we be happy. So the Bible says "be joyful always" and this is God's will for us in christ Jesus. So be joyful, smile, be happy always, in all circumstances. Let's pray together.

[prayer]

Heavenly Father we thank you so much for giving us many reasons to smile, to be joyful in our lives. But whenever we had met difficulties, we were not happy, we were not joyful and even we complained you. This time we feel very sorry about this and we repent our sins. You heal our spirit and recover our heart from our anger and sorrow. So we can smile to others again. I pray in Jesus name. A-men