Psalm 144:15, “Happy are those who are like this; happy are the people whose God is the Lord.”
A professor gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The professor then mixed all the balloons. The students were given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon. At that point the professor told the students to take the first balloon they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes everyone had their own balloon. The professor said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people’s happiness… we’ll find ours too.”
Work, stress, people. Some day's it's hard to keep a smile on one's face. In those frustrating everyday moments when you feel rushed, out of control, or people just do dumb things, how do you find a happy moment? The good news is that God is the true source of happiness, strength, hope, and wisdom. Those who are in His favor will always have these things. And we can share the joy with others even on those stressful days because happiness is contagious.
One day, Miss Ellis gave her pupils a new assignment: an assignment on happiness. Her pupils would be "happiness collectors" and were to see what would happen when they tried to bring happiness to those around them. As part of their assignment, all the students did really delightful, wonderful things, but what Carla Chalmers did left everyone gobsmacked. Several days after the assignment had been handed out, Carla turned up carrying a big sack.
"Here in this bag, I have all the happiness I've collected so far," she said, smiling.
On seeing this, everyone was filled with expectation, but Carla didn't want to show anyone what was in the sack. Instead, she pulled out a small box and gave it to her teacher. When Miss Ellis had taken the box, Carla took an instant camera out of her own pocket and stood with it at the ready. "Open it, Miss Ellis."
The teacher slowly opened the box and looked inside. A big smile shone on her face, and at that moment Carla snapped a photo. Carla's photo popped out the camera, and she offered it to Miss Ellis along with a sheet of paper. The teacher read the paper in silence, and when she had finished, she gestured over at the sack. "Oh, so it's...."
"Yes!" interrupted Carla, undoing the knot which sealed the sack, "It's a great big pile of smiles!" She opened the sack and hundreds of photos fell out, all of different smiles, each one of them beautiful.
The rest of the class tried to work out how Carla had managed to create such a great big chain of happiness. All there was in the box was a photo of a big smile. But everyone who had seen it had felt happiness being transmitted to them, and in return, without even thinking about it, every person had responded with a smile of their own.
With all her classmates now smiling, Carla took a photo of each one of them. She gave them their own photo along with a slip of paper, which asked them to do the same with other people, and to send a copy of the photos to her home address. For months afterwards, Carla's post box was always full to the brim with photos of happy, smiling people.
And so, it was that she managed to spread understanding of the simple truth that every time you smile you are sending a gift to the world.
Life is full of ups and downs — moments where we wonder if Jesus has abandoned us. But with His guidance, we can find happiness- Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
We can find happiness because God will always be present in your life and no matter what happens, you should always remember that He is there for you. That thought alone should bring you happiness- Psalm 16:8-9 “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.”
The point is, we live in a world of sin and so much sadness is around us. Sometimes it’s hard to find the happiness we have been promised through Jesus. We can have that happiness when we stay close to Jesus, trusting He is in control and taking care of us through everything- Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
When we have found that peace and happiness, we can share it around us and together the light of Jesus can begin to shine more and more in this dark world brightening up each of our days. Who knows what impact you may have on someone you gave a smile to when you wanted to yell instead.
I learned a song when I was a child that has stuck with me all my life and each time I begin to talk about happiness it comes to my mind. We have a choice each day, we can live in the negative and fuel satan’s reign over this world or we can choose to be happy in good times and bad and show satan that our Lord reigns over this world, the heavens and our life. Let happiness lead your path daily.
Happiness is to know the Savior, Living a life within His favor,
Having a change in my behavior, Happiness is the Lord.
Happiness is a new creation, Jesus and me in close relation,
Having a part in His salvation, Happiness is the Lord.
Real joy is mine,
No matter if the teardrops start,
I've found a secret,
It's Jesus in my heart.
Happiness is to be forgiven, Living a life that's worth the livin',
Taking a try that leads to Heaven, Happiness is the Lord.
Happiness is the Lord, Happiness is the Lord,
Happiness is the Lord.
Let's continue to look at a couple more benefits we can gain when we take the time to read the Bible. You become a better listener: It's interesting that when you start reading the Bible more for yourself, you find yourself listening more closely to others when in church, at Bible studies, even when you're just sitting around talking scripture. Sometimes you will find that some people are more off base than you thought and you are able to add what you've learned to help them also see something they may have missed. Other times you will find listening to other's gives you more of a perspective on what you may have been reading. Ultimately you can begin asking the right questions to stir up more conversation and help other's learn more about the Bible and Jesus.
God becomes real: One of the most surprising benefits to reading the bible is that suddenly it’s almost like God really becomes real—to you specifically. He’s not just there…He is tangibly showing up in your life. The more you read the more you start to see how He’s working specifically in your life—and in others’ lives. He shows up through our circumstances, our relationships, and in other ways we don’t expect. God wants you to know, He sees you and cares for you.
Let's continue our new study through 1 Timothy and continue in chapter 1 verses 12-17/
Study 2- 1 Timothy 1:12-17: https://www.docdroid.net/MW0MLYY/study-2-docx
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and if you'd like take a few more minutes to look around or click on my other links, God bless.
If you haven't already please subscribe to our email list on our homepage https://www.connectwithgoddaily.com/ or join any of our media, and please feel free to visit us on Facebook and join our group. https://www.facebook.com/dailyblessingblog/
Also come visit and see what is new in our bookstore. dswells.weebly.com
Don't forget to share with your friends some inspiration today and brighten up their day too.
For those new to our emails, if you would rather receive these via text or on messenger please let me know through my email, dswell123@yahoo.com or our FaceBook page.