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Announcer (00:00:00): It's time to think about the Bible like you never have before. This is Christian Questions. Experience more episodes, videos and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com. Today's topic is, "Is There a Christian Secret to a Happy Life?" We're Christians and we're called to follow in Jesus' footsteps, and we absolutely want to be happy as we go. Let's remember Jesus's own path led to sacrifice and death. We're following this path, and we're supposed to be happy? How does that work? Actually, there are answers. Here's Rick, Jonathan and Julie.

RIck (00:00:35): Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over 25 years. Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?

Jonathan (00:00:47): Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

RIck (00:00:58): Way back in the 1980s, Bobby McFerrin recorded and released his very popular song, "Don't Worry, be Happy." It's a simple and upbeat perspective on living. When you think about it, the title is a profound instruction for life. Don't worry; instead, be happy. Now, about a hundred years before this catchy song, Hannah Whitall Smith wrote an ageless book called "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life." In it, she detailed a powerful formula for happy living that was based on complete faith in God and fully surrendering to His will. The message in the song and the book are the same, except the book gives us solid "how-to" perspectives for Christians. While we won't be singing the song, or Jonathan, maybe you want to sing it, but while we won't be singing the song or reviewing the book, we will be applying scriptural principles that will help make happiness real in our daily Christian lives.

Julie (00:01:56): This is a bold subject considering how much of the world is either at war, about or on the edge of war. Aside from our own personal tragedies, the planet is sick, the people are miserable and dying. The news is grim, graphic and grotesque. How can we speak of happiness at a time like this? Does God even want us to be happy?

Jonathan (00:02:18): We'll first have to define what happiness means. Generally, we think of it as temporary positive emotion, as in: we wish someone "Happy Birthday," and there is excitement as they blow candles out on a cake. Then it's over as we move on to the next problem of life. But we want to see how the Bible defines being happy. What is Christian happiness? It may not be what you expect.

RIck (00:02:43): Of course it's not going to be what you expect! Why would it be? This is Christian Questions! Let's start with an Old Testament perspective on happiness. We're going to find that to be happy and to be blessed in scripture can be synonymous. Jonathan, let's get started with what we have.

Jonathan (00:03:02): Well, the first Hebrew word we'll talk about is used as a noun and means "happiness and blessedness."

Julie (00:03:09): This isn't a "jumping for joy" kind of emotion. One of our CQ volunteers, Val, says, this isn't like laughing always like a hyena. Instead, this is a sense of having a stable wellbeing.

RIck (00:03:23): Stable wellbeing, that's going to be a theme that we're going to work through as we go through this look at happiness. We're starting in the Old Testament. Jonathan, let's start with Deuteronomy 33:29:

Jonathan (00:03:38): "Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shall tread upon their high places."

RIck (00:03:54): "Happy are you, Israel." Happy are you, the chosen nation of God. You look at national happiness as a reflection here in this first verse. Let's look at another verse. Psalm 1:1-2:

Jonathan (00:04:09): "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night."

Julie (00:04:23): Notice how the blessed or happy person isn't walking, standing or sitting where they don't belong. Quick Bible commentary by David Guzik: "The righteous man only has God's word on his mind two times a day: day and night." That about covers it all.

RIck (00:04:40): It does. You see the process in this verse; walking, then you slow down to standing, and then you get comfortable and sit. The idea is Christian happiness has got to be focused on always moving forward in God's word, like you said with that commentary. This happiness, this blessedness; remember one scripture said "happy," the other one said "blessed." This happiness or blessedness. It's a thing, it's a noun. It's not a feeling; it's a tangible state of mind. Let's go further to better understand what this happiness, this blessedness is based on. We want to look at the root word for this happiness/blessedness as it gives us a potentially unexpected expansion of meaning.

Jonathan (00:05:24): This word is a verb that means "to be straight; used in the widest sense, especially to be level, right; to go straight; advance; make progress."

RIck (00:05:35): "Be straight, level, right, go forward." You've got all these things, it's like "wait, wait, aren't we talking about being happy?" The answer is, yes, we are. But reserve your judgment on the conclusion until we get into this. Three next scriptures use this word in very different ways. Jonathan, first, Psalm 41:1-2:

Jonathan (00:05:55): "How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies."

RIck (00:06:10): That one sounds like happy; "he shall be blessed, called blessed upon the earth." We've got that. Now let's look at the other two scriptures for the other shades of meaning. Proverbs 9:6:

Jonathan (00:06:21): "Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding.''

RIck (00:06:27): You didn't talk about happiness.

Jonathan (00:06:28): No, I didn't. I I said the word "proceed."

RIck (00:06:31): That's the word; "proceeding." You say, "Wait, wait! I'm supposed to be happy by proceeding?" The answer is yes, because it gives us a sense of progress, of moving forward. Now let's look at one more scripture. Isaiah 1:17. It's going to use exactly the same word:

Jonathan (00:06:47): "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

RIck (00:06:54): All right, help me out. Where's happiness?

Jonathan (00:06:56): "Relieve the oppressed."

RIck (00:06:57): All right, "relieve." What you're doing is, you are doing something constructive. We've got this moving forward, this constructiveness. The definition had the idea of "level" in it. What we see is the root word for happiness or blessedness has a very strong sense of something that's very unemotional actually.

Julie (00:07:21): The primary Old Testament word for "happy" comes from the root word having to do with being level, moving forward and progressing. Okay, got it!

RIck (00:07:29): Okay. Simple and different.

Julie (00:07:33): Not what I thought.

RIck (00:07:34): No, no, it's not what anybody thought, but this is what the Scriptures say. Let's build on this now, Jonathan, let's look at happy Christian Living. We want to put recipes together here for happy Christian living.

Jonathan (00:07:46): Well, from an Old Testament perspective, to truly be happy and blessed is to have a state of mind that is level and right in which progress is attainable.

RIck (00:07:57): "Happy" equals "level, righteous, godly righteousness in which progress is attainable." Again, it's not some big emotional thing; level, right, making progress. We've got that from the Old Testament. Now let's translate this into New Testament happiness.

Jonathan (00:08:18): We will look at an adjective for "happy," meaning "to be supremely blessed; by extension, fortunate, well off."

RIck (00:08:25): Okay. New Testament - the idea is "supremely blessed, fortunate, or well off." It's used widely; his word is used widely. It's an adjective, so it's describing something. We're just going to give you two examples here to sort of give us the flavor. First is 1 Peter 4:14:

Jonathan (00:08:43): "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified."

RIck (00:08:57): This is interesting because it says, "happy are you." Now, if this was emotional happiness, it says, "Okay, I'm reproached for the name of Christ" and it makes me feel so good!" That's not the happiness. "Happy, supremely blessed are you." We can have an experience that emotionally doesn't feel good but produces the happiness that the scriptures are telling us about. See, it's a very different kind of thing. One more example here, Titus 2:11-13:

Jonathan (00:09:28): "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Then there's another verb form, meaning "to pronounce or esteem fortunate; to pronounce as blessed."

RIck (00:09:56): Now we're going into another form of the exact same word. A verb is an action, so now we're going to look how this word is used as an action. It's only used twice in the New Testament, so we can afford to give you all of the uses, okay? Doesn't that make you happy? Luke 1:46-48:

Jonathan (00:10:16): "And Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed."

RIck (00:10:31): "Will count me blessed." That's the word. It is a proclamation of supreme blessing. When Mary says that, she's realizing the incredible privilege she has, and she's saying, "This is something that will be a label; it will count me blessed." What a beautiful thought that is, because she was the mother of Jesus. The only other time this is used is in James 5:11:

Jonathan (00:10:57): "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."

RIck (00:11:10): "We count them happy." We proclaim. It's this proclamation of being supremely blessed. Who are we proclaiming to be supremely blessed? Them "which endure." What does that mean? When you cope with the trials and the traumas and the difficulty, we count you as "supremely blessed." It doesn't mean that you're feeling great. What it means is that God's blessing, as we will see throughout this podcast, is with you and driving you forward. That's the kind of happiness we're talking about here. It's very different than "Happy birthday to you." Very, very different kind of thing than that. Jonathan, let's wrap this up. Happy Christian Living; what do we have?

Jonathan (00:11:56): Christian happiness is not a state of euphoria. It is not mere tolerance or acceptance either. Biblical happiness is built squarely upon the foundation of God's word, God's will and God's way being our straight path through life. We are fortunate and well off when the stability of God's will is our driving force.

RIck (00:12:17): You've got the sense of a driving force, you've got the sense of it's not euphoria, and you've also got the sense of it's not mere tolerance. It's a state of mind that has God's will driving that state of mind through whatever the experiences of life may be. In some ways, the way the Bible describes happiness is surprising. On the other hand, having our happiness in God? Well, that's no surprise at all.

Jonathan (00:12:49): A happy Christian life is entirely dependent upon perceiving, understanding and embracing God's ways. How do we do that?

RIck (00:12:59): Good question. How do we do that? Now that we know the source of all Christian happiness, we can see that this "how-to" question is at the core of everything. The better we learn the "how-to,," the happier our Christian walk will become. Our first point is very broad in scope, as we were going to see that a happy Christian life is dependent on our embracing all aspects of our lives as purposed by God. Remember that phrase, "purposed by God."

Julie (00:13:38): But before we jump in, we want to have a quick disclaimer. Being unhappy doesn't mean that you are failing as a Christian. Christians get sad, angry, frustrated, and sometimes we have anxiety and depression that even need professional help. There's no shame in that. Today we're talking in broad terms about a way of looking at biblical truths to change the perspective of our thinking, truths that give the Christian stability and assurance, and in turn, happiness.

RIck (00:14:07): That's a really important point. Just because you struggle with anxiety or depression doesn't mean you can't be a happy Christian. Do the two work together? No, no they don't. But we can learn to have pieces of this happiness, helping us to cope with what may be natural and to be able to overcome it small step by small step. It's important to realize this is not an "all or nothing" proposition. This is a proposition of focusing our minds and finding it as best as we can in whatever the context of our lives is. We're going to be looking at Romans, the 8th chapter, several verses in the 8th chapter, to find the "secret" of a Christian's happy life. The context of our Romans theme scripture, Jonathan, was Romans 8:28. Everybody knows that scripture, right?

Jonathan (00:14:55): Yes.

RIck (00:14:55): Everybody. "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." The context of that scripture serves to put the breadth of our lives into order. We're going to follow the context, and we're going to watch the Apostle Paul build a process for us to understand true Christian happiness. This is thrilling when you look at it piece-by-piece. Let's start, Jonathan, with Romans 8:12-13:

Jonathan (00:15:29): "So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Well, how important is it to live by the spirit and not by the flesh? It's the secret to godly happiness! We have purpose and peace and a stable life. Life is good.

RIck (00:15:57): It's good. Living by the spirit versus living by the flesh; what's the difference? The difference is, what am I listening to? What am I following? Am I following that stable road of God's spirit? Or am I following the back and forth, up and down emotional roller coaster of my flesh? That's why living by the spirit is a whole different ballgame, and that's where happiness, true Christian happiness, can begin.

Julie (00:16:24): We're going to have little sentences to memorize about Christian happiness. There's these little pieces that you were talking about, Rick, that if we can grasp onto some of these pieces, it will help us in our stability. The first one is: Christian happiness is knowing our purpose.

RIck (00:16:41): It's pretty simple, isn't it? Know what you're about. Know your "why" in your life. As we go through this and we introduce each of these Christian happiness little sentences, Julie, that you were just talking about, we want to refer back to the Old Testament because this is a whole Bible teaching. We started with the Old, we went into the New Testament to see how the two really worked together to show us that this happiness is not euphoria, but it is that stable state of mind. Let's go to our first scripture from the Old Testament as we unfold this. That's Psalm 112:1:

Julie (00:17:19): "Praise the LORD! How blessed (that's that same word for happy) is the man who fears (or reverences) the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments." You remember how in Psalm 1:1-2 we had that walk/stand/sit admonition. Well here, the one who delights in God's laws is the one who's blessed and happy. We're going to start seeing this pattern. Happiness comes from knowing and doing what God expects of us. That's our purpose, and it makes sense. In His love for us, He's laid out the best path that we should take. When we walk on this even, level ground, we should be able to confidently move forward.

RIck (00:17:58): That's important. That's why the Old Testament, it gives us that foundation, and the New Testament beautifully builds upon it. How blessed is the man who fears, respects, honors, reverences the Lord. Let's jump to the New Testament now. Folks, did you know that Jesus gave a teaching specifically dedicated to the happiness of our purpose? It was all about us being happy. You say, well, where is that? Well, it's a teaching that everybody knows; it's the Beatitudes. Matthew 5, Jonathan, let's just do verses 1-9:

Jonathan (00:18:30): "When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain; and after he sat down, and his disciples came to him. He opened his mouth and began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

RIck (00:19:07): You think, okay, what does this have to do with being happy? "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." We're saying that's the same word for "happy." That's the word for that level approach. When you're mourning, the point is if you're a follower of Christ and called by God, you know the big picture. Even though you're in a painful state, you see something bigger, and you are blessed. You can have that level approach to saying, "This hurts, but it's not something that's permanent." "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." You don't have something, but he's saying, you're blessed because that's what you are looking for. You have that level sense to your life, that state of mind that says, there's a direction that I need to go to find this righteousness. It's a beautiful picture, a beautiful picture of how all of this works together. The word for "blessed" is the same word for "happy" in the New Testament. Jonathan, when we take a look at this first Romans scripture and these other additions, what do we have now in relation to Happy Christian Living?

Jonathan (00:20:14): Our purpose is to live as true followers of Jesus in humility, heart, gentleness and desiring righteousness in a merciful and pure way. It is to bring the peace of God wherever we go. Seeking any and all of these things provide strong points of reference for our character.

Julie (00:20:34): We want to take a look at a mirror question. We hold up a mirror and see what we think. If I'm not happy, which of these Christian principles that you mentioned, Jonathan, am I not following? When our mind feels unsettled and worried, we can use these points as a kind of filter to see if we're weak in a particular area.

RIck (00:20:55): These points cover a wide variety of our lives, and that's no accident. This is how we live a happy Christian life. In Romans 8:12-13, the apostle said live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. There is a foundation. The next piece comes in Romans 8:14-15:

Jonathan (00:21:17): "For all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For ye have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father!" How important is this individual connection? It's amazing that we are sons of God, just like Jesus. It's important to know our heavenly Father is giving us our life experiences because of this special relationship.

Julie (00:21:47): Here's another little sentence to think about. Christian happiness is being included in God's family as His sons. Now we're so used to thinking of God as our Father, that the importance of this point is often missed. Adam was considered a son before he sinned. Thousands of years would go by before the relationship of being a son to God would again exist in Jesus. You were either a friend, an enemy, or a servant of God during those intervening years. It was radical for Jesus to refer to God as "our Father" to his disciples. They would've never heard anyone use such language for God. Now we move back to the Old Testament connection with that in mind. Let's look at Psalm 65:4. It says: "How blessed is the one whom You (meaning God) choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple." What do we learn from that? The blessed, happy person is satisfied with God's way, even if it isn't the way they would normally choose. When we were looking at this subject, we kept bringing up the word satisfaction, contentment, joy. All of these describe scriptural happiness and all involve that same pattern of knowing - and doing - what God expects from us.

RIck (00:23:09): The basis for this, according to Romans 8:14-15, and we're going to expand it now, is this idea of being sons of God. This is a big, big, big deal, Julie, just like you said. We need to expand on it some more because we have to dwell on this because this is one of the ways that we achieve Christian, true Christian happiness. As sons, as sons of God, we find happiness in the varied sonship of others who walk alongside of us. Jonathan, let's look at 1 Corinthians 12:14-18:

Jonathan (00:23:42): "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." Well, how important is this group connection? Those who co-labor with us in Christ go far beyond the relationship of a natural family. If we don't have this co-laboring type of bond with each other and lay down our lives for each other, we're missing out on this eternal relationship.

RIck (00:24:32): You've got to think about that, the way you just said that - this "eternal relationship." When you have a relationship with somebody and it's a good relationship and it's solid, there's a contentment there, there's an evenness there, there's a trust there. Well, the relationship of "sons of God" is one that begins in this life and goes for all time to come forever and ever. Think about the evenness, the state of mind of working with those who think and are drawn to the same things that we're drawn, who are drawn by God through God's spirit. It's a powerful way to find our Christian happiness.

Julie (00:25:14): One thing I think of is if we're going to be spending eternity with our brotherhood, we should start getting along with them now, here, right?

RIck (00:25:22): You think? No, that's so important and it's very easy to say and it's not easy to do. Jonathan, Happy Christian Living; where are we?

Jonathan (00:25:32): True and sincere inclusion at any noble cause can settle anyone's life. Inclusion into God's own family as sons brings us a settled life with the highest of purpose and power behind it.

Julie (00:25:47): Let's individually answer this question: "How well am I happily contributing to this remarkable brotherhood arrangement that God gave us?"

RIck (00:25:57): All right, what am I doing? How am I contributing to this?

Jonathan (00:26:01): Happiness isn't just serving God the best way I know how; it's co-laboring with others so that collectively we can stand higher.

RIck (00:26:10): Folks, if you understand, if you've ever had the experience of co-laboring, you know exactly what Jonathan just said. Because co-laboring, it brings many efforts together. It's so much bigger than, 'Hey, here's my idea." No, this is our effort together to honor God. We've got the living by the spirit that Paul sets the groundwork and then he talks about being called "sons of God." Now, let's go further in Romans 8:16-17:

Jonathan (00:26:40): "The spirit itself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him." How valuable is our heirship? It's a gem and treasure to be with God in heaven and working with Jesus. Why? Because our inheritance is to bless all the families of the earth so they can come back into harmony with God.

Julie (00:27:12): Let's take a look at our little sentence: Christian happiness is being a fellow heir, a fellow inheritor along with Jesus himself. This is another one of those truths that we might easily skip over without realizing its monumental importance. God resurrected Jesus to a plane of existence that involves eternal life, not dependent on any outside source. That sonship that we receive, being considered a child of God, provides us with that same inheritance to be with Christ. This concept, this promise can drive us through our personal tragedies to think that all that we go through will be a blip on the timeline of eternity.

RIck (00:27:54): But how often do we allow ourselves to dwell on that when we have the difficulties of life? See, when we get engulfed in the difficulties of life, we sometimes forget the keys to our Christian happiness, and that is to see things from God's perspective. You see that big picture; fellow heirs, fellow inheritors with Christ. I mean, come on! You don't get bigger, you don't get better, you don't get stronger, you don't get more amazing than that. It's a choice. We have to put ourselves in a position to say, "I need to think about this a little bit more." Julie, let's go back to the Old Testament connection.

Julie (00:28:31): Well, that leads us right into Proverbs 29:18 which says, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law." Same pattern, same admonition. Know and do what God expects from us. Stay focused on what's important. There may be chaos all around us, but keeping our eyes on that level path results in our happiness, our blessing.

RIck (00:28:55): Absolutely. Keep your eyes on what's important. Think about Jesus here. Even when he was faced with torture and death, Jesus happily shared what the future would bring for his true followers. We see this in John chapter 14. This is the night before he was crucified. John 14:1-3:

Jonathan (00:29:16): "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

RIck (00:29:36): Think about this. He's about to die and he says, "I am going to prepare a place for you. I've got you in my heart and in my mind." He's giving them something to look forward to. That level state of mind that can carry them through the coming trials. That's Jesus. That's what was important to him. Our happiness, our state of mind, being godly, is what was so important to him. Jonathan, Happy Christian Living; at this point where are we?

Jonathan (00:30:04): Because the unchangeableness of God's word is a source of our happiness, we must remind ourselves who our elder brother is, and how he guides, cares and protects us.

Julie (00:30:16): Here's a question for all of us: Do we not only think about this family bond, but do we happily embrace this remarkable heavenly family bond that Jesus promised?

RIck (00:30:29): All these things are in the eighth chapter of Romans. This is a recipe for living that level, having that state of mind, that happy Christian life. Having a heavenly purpose, being a son of God and having Jesus as our brother are all certainly powerful contributors to our Christian happiness.

Jonathan (00:30:54): Now that we understand our spiritual family arrangement, how do we build on it as we pursue true Christian happiness?

RIck (00:31:03): Having such a secure family bond is a critical foundation for the kinds of experiences we will face as disciples of Jesus. In Romans 8, Paul is giving us the security of a family before he reminds us of the depth of trial and testing every follower of Jesus faces. He's building this pattern for us, so we've got things to hold onto at every level. His message should be clear. Nothing can break the power of God in your life unless you let it. Now let's go to the next step in Romans 8. We've got this family relationship and the strength; Romans 8:18 is the next piece:

Jonathan (00:31:45): "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Well, how do we keep a proper attitude through suffering? By understanding that in the future we will be able to sympathize with others. We trust God that we can learn valuable life lessons for His purpose.

Julie (00:32:10): Here's a quote from the book "The Christian Secret of a Happy Life" that you mentioned earlier, Rick. It says, "You must remember that our God has all knowledge and all wisdom, and that therefore, it's very possible He may guide you into paths wherein He knows great blessings are awaiting you, but which, to the shortsighted human eyes around you, seem sure to result in confusion and loss." This leads us to another important observation: Christian happiness is being content in our trials and testings. Psalms 32:1-2 tells us: "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." Let me read verse 2 again, from the New Living translation: "Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!" There's this wise saying: "You can't trip over what's behind you." Sin that has been forgiven is in the past. Often we get stuck replaying that sin over and over again because we don't believe that we've been forgiven. It's important to learn what is necessary in order to be forgiven, so when we do think, say, or do something that we know is wrong, we know what the path ahead is.

RIck (00:33:35): This is important because it helps us to put things in perspective. When you're tripping over something that's in the past, you're sacrificing your ability to have that Christian happiness in the present. We've got to make sure that we see ourselves in the present and look to the future. That's why Romans 8:18, "...the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared..." So, how do we get there? Christian happiness does not stand alone. It needs something called contentment. Let's look at a scriptural combination that builds contentment, and we're going to put the two together. 1 Timothy 6:6-9:

Jonathan (00:34:13): "But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment." Contentment here means "a competence." Rick, this verse is describing an equation. Godliness plus contentment equals great gain.

RIck (00:34:27): Those words "great gain" actually means, literally means "splendid acquisition." You look at this. What this is saying is, godliness can bring us "splendid acquisition!" That's a phrase that maybe is not that common, but it sounds pretty good to me. Okay, I like "splendid acquisition." Godliness can bring a "splendid acquisition" when it's accompanied by "spiritual competence." There's much more to contentment like, okay, I'm good. That's not contentment. We're talking about "spiritual competency" here, Jonathan. Let's go to verses 7-9:

Jonathan (00:35:03): "For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content (this Greek word means "to ward off"). But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction."

RIck (00:35:26): You said that word means "to ward off." You've got this "spiritual competence" that knows how "to ward off" those difficult things. That brings the "splendid acquisition" of contentment. You see, it all fits together. The contentment in these verses is a spiritual competence that wards off fleshly desire. You can see that there is a tremendous value to contentment as we talk about happiness.

Julie (00:35:56): I have another great quote from "The Christian Happiness Book" by Hannah Whitall Smith. She said this: "The teaching here is simply this, that anything allowed in the heart which is contrary to the will of God, let it seem ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply hidden, will cause us to fall before our enemies." I think that's what the Apostle Paul is teaching us. When you go back and read Romans 8 in its entirety (and we encourage everyone to do so) without breaking it up like we're doing now, you'll see how Paul is really methodically building this unshakeable foundation for what's coming next, and the answer is blessedness, happiness.

RIck (00:36:34): Contentment is a big part of Christian happiness. Now, these are two different things. Contentment is a state of being, where happiness truly is a state of mind. If you have the state of mind of happiness, you have to put it into action by your state of being. You just can't think it. You have to do it. Put the two together. That's the point. Jonathan, Happy Christian Living:

Jonathan (00:37:01): Contentment is a necessity for a Christian to have a happy life. In the same way that Christian happiness is not a state of euphoria or mere tolerance, contentment is not just sitting back and absorbing the trials of life. Rather, it is the strength of spiritual choice and action, to choose the acceptance of circumstances for the sake of Christ!

Julie (00:37:23): The question for all of us is, does my spiritual contentment contribute to or detract from my Christian happiness?

RIck (00:37:32): That's a really good question. How does my spiritual contentment look? You know, we all have spiritual contentment, and it might not look very good. We need to look at the mirror and say, does that contentment need an overhaul? You look at Romans 8, and it helps us to put it in perspective along with the state of mind of spiritual happiness. We can see the Apostle Paul, now he's given us the basis of the living in the spirit and the family relationship and joint heirs with Christ. Now he's introduced suffering. Now he's going to go a step further. Okay, you have trials. Well, what about those trials? Why do those trials have such powerful positiveness? Let's look at the next verses. Romans 8:19-22:

Jonathan (00:38:19): "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." How important is our responsibility of being sons of God before mankind becomes children of God? All of our growth and development as the sons of God now is to help and be a blessing to mankind in God's future kingdom.

Julie (00:39:02): That leads us to another important point about Christian happiness: Christian happiness is knowing that our individual sacrifice now contributes to the benefit of all in the future. We look at Psalm 94:12,14 back in the Old Testament. It says, "Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD, and whom You teach out of Your law; that you may grant him relief from the days of adversity, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance."

RIck (00:39:34): You're talking about being blessed, and you talk about digging a "pit for the wicked." Let's understand that what this is talking about is, God's plan has a place for and a way to handle that which is ungodly. All of those things will happen in the future. We know that restitution comes to all men and reconciliation comes to all men, but wickedness eventually is ended. Blessed are you, happy are you, even in your state of mind are you before all of that happens, while things look like they're out of control. That's the kind of blessedness that Romans 8 is talking about, where the creation groans and travails in pain. That's the circumstance that we're in now. Folks, look around at the world around you. Look at the pain and the suffering. We can find Christian happiness, not euphoria, but the Christian stability to be able to focus on what's happening in the context of what God's plan is. Let's go a little further with this. Paul, the Apostle Paul, was an example of how his contentment gave him the strength to happily conquer all things, not just to kind of get by, but to happily conquer all things. Jonathan, Philippians 4:10-13:

Jonathan (00:40:54): "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me.

RIck (00:41:29): He talks about being content, having that sense of wellbeing, that sense of living your life in the context of God's will. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It's a beautiful teaching for us to hold onto. This strength that the apostle is showing us is the soil in which true Christian happiness can grow and can be tended and it can flourish. Now here's the thing; the Apostle had a way of being the quiet voice in the midst of chaos. If you've ever seen a situation where people are worried and nervous and anxious, and somebody walks into the room and they're calm and they look at the circumstances around them, people tend to look at that and say, "Oh wait, I can take a breath." I'll tell you, in counseling, that is one of the absolute keys. No matter what somebody tells you, no matter how hard their circumstance, to have a soft, encouraging, thoughtful, non-emotional answer is a way to help them cope.

Julie (00:42:42): That's really what the Apostle Paul is doing. He's walking into our room, so to speak, and calming us. He changes the energy, showing us exactly how to deal with too much prosperity, which believe it or not, can be a real trial; or on the other end of the spectrum, too much want. You might be familiar with this in the King James, where he says, "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound." He mastered what we learned from the Old Testament; be level, be on even ground, go straight, advance, make progress.

Jonathan (00:43:13): Look closely at Paul's state of mind; it is contentment. This in turn gives him peace, which in turn leads to more contentment. One feeds the other. If we can master the idea of having a settled, level state of mind and apply it in a contented way towards the chaos we face, it will not only keep us balanced, but can help those around us to feel calm. I was thinking of the example of Paul and Silas singing hymns in prison right after they were beaten with rods. Because they had contentment in prison, they had a positive effect on the jailer and the prisoners.

RIck (00:43:51): It's an amazing trickle-down effect, and it can actually be a very positive tidal wave effect, not just trickle down. Happy Christian Living, Jonathan, let's put this in order:

Jonathan (00:44:03): A contented way of living our Christian life compliments the necessary, happy state of a Christian mind. The further we mature in discipleship, the more we will realize that we will not stay happy without being contented.

Julie (00:44:17): Here's the question for all of us. How often do I check in on my balance of a contented life and a happy state of mind?

RIck (00:44:25): You know what, that sounds like an easy question, but I will tell you from personal experience that sometimes the answer to that question isn't very good. I had an experience just this past week that made me...you write a question like that, and then you look at yourself and say, "Oh, Rick, what are you doing?" Because you have to ask yourself. I had the experience where I had spent a lot of time preparing to visit with a client, and I was ready to go. About 10 or 15 minutes before I'd leave the client calls and says, "Ah, now forget it. Just forget everything." Okay, no problem. I'm very courteous to the client. I get off the phone, it's like, "If you could've told me earlier, I wouldn't have wasted all that time." I'm griping, I'm complaining, yes, I am complaining. Well, about 15 or 20 minutes later, I get a call from a dear sister in Christ who is just having such a really, really hard time with a very, very, very difficult experience. She's just looking for contribution. She's looking for that quiet voice. Folks, if I had had that appointment, I couldn't have taken that call. After being on that call and going through that, I looked at myself and said, "Boy, Rick, look at what you need to just remember. God's always got it in control." Be level, be happy, be contented because you don't know where He's bringing you. That brings us to the next section in Romans 8:23:

Jonathan (00:45:54): "And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body." Since our experiences in the school of Christ are tough and we can't wait for our spiritual change, what do we do? Focus on developing the fruit of the spirit. In so doing, we will be victorious.

Julie (00:46:21): Here's another Christian happiness sentence: Christian happiness is being able to look forward with great anticipation. When we started this episode, I asked, "Does the Lord even want us to be happy?" Then we found Isaiah 30:18. It says, "Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him." What a beautiful scripture! God "longs to be gracious." He has provided an even, level road to walk on, that settled approach to life. Do we trust Him enough to stay on that road? Or is there an interesting path that leads somewhere else that we keep veering towards?

RIck (00:47:08): When you look at that, God "longs to be gracious" to you. Talk about giving you food for thought, to keep your mind in that level state. "How blessed are those who long for Him."

Jonathan (00:47:24): Here's the reward that comes after all the difficulty. 1 John 3:2-3: "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when he (Jesus) appears, we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

RIck (00:47:48): There's this anticipation, this looking forward to say, "We don't know what it's going to be like, but when it's time, we will see him, and we will know." There's this beautiful anticipation that says, "Don't know what it's going to be like, but it's better than anything I could possibly ever imagine." That helps us to keep our hearts and minds level in that contentment and moving forward with our Christian happiness. Jonathan, Happy Christian Living:

Jonathan (00:48:16): Christian happiness is expanded in proportion to the focus we have, not only on what God has done for us, but what He promises in the future. Such powerful anticipation can ease any trial and help reframe any confusion.

Julie (00:48:33): Of course, here comes a question: How much time do I then spend thinking about my trial versus looking forward to God's blessings? That's a simple but powerful question. Is my mind dwelling on the anxiety in my life or on the blessedness of what God gives me each day? Because for every measure of anxiety, there's a more powerful measure of grace. How am I doing balancing myself between the two?

RIck (00:48:59): You can't throw away anxiety all at once. But what you can do is piece by piece, take a piece of the anxiety and replace it with grace. That's how we can begin on that road to true Christian happiness. Trials, patience, perspective, understanding God's plan for all, and contentedness. These are just a few of the pieces of the Christian happiness puzzle.

Jonathan (00:49:23): What is the conclusion for all of this? How do we get Christian happiness to make a permanent home in our hearts and minds?

RIck (00:49:31): The possibility of a permanent happiness perspective grows along with our Christian maturity. As long as we are seeking Christ's likeness, remembering our spiritual family ties and facing our trials and experiences with grace, we're on the right track. Next, the Apostle Paul gives us the conclusion, the absolute positive end-all secret to a happy Christian life.

Jonathan (00:50:03): Here's another quote from "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life." "Remember always that there are two things which are more utterly incompatible even than oil and water, and these two are trust and worry. Can you call it trust...if day after day you are spending hours of anxious thought and questionings about the matter? When believers really trust anything, they cease to worry about the thing that they have trusted."

RIck (00:50:30): Again, this can be a piece-by-piece development. It's not like you can just throw away a distrust or anxiety. You piece-by-piece work on it. That's where our theme scripture, the key to this Christian secret of a happy life comes into play. Jonathan, Romans 8:28:

Jonathan (00:50:53): "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Julie (00:51:01): Trials little, trials great: Romans 8:28! That's something to remember. But I've heard this scripture half-quoted, that "God causes all things to work together for good," period. But there's these qualifiers; it's to those who love God AND to those who are called according to His purpose.

Jonathan (00:51:21): How important is this secret of knowing that we have been called to the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus? Philippians 3:14. It means we can claim this promise as we strive to transform our lives to Christlikeness, which will bring us to victory.

Julie (00:51:37): That leads us to: Christian happiness is knowing that God's hands, heart, and will are driving my experiences. Let's look at Job 5:17-18. It says, "Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal." Now in context, this is Eliphaz speaking, one of Job's friends. He ends up getting a lot of things wrong, but the principle he brings out here is good. This is like going to a surgeon. You know, the aftermath of surgery is often extremely painful and there's a slow recovery, but it's for the better good. We know God overrules by allowing certain trials for growth, learning, testing and making us stronger. Difficulty produces the necessary growth needed to be great.

RIck (00:52:32): Jesus himself learned obedience by the things that he experienced. Why would we go through it any differently? There's power, there's power in knowing that God "causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him." But anxiety is always lurking in the background, especially for some of us. Folks, if that's an issue that you struggle with, please don't despair. Look at this as a way to step-by-step work on it, build something different. Anxiety is powerful, but it cannot compete with the surety of God's care.

Jonathan (00:53:09): Matthew 6:24-28 tells us we can't serve two masters. We can't serve God and wealth. We can't add a single hour to our lives by worrying. Let's drop in on Matthew 6:31-33: "Do not worry then, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Julie (00:53:41): I just saw this video of a pastor on stage, and he had two ladders. He had one leg on each, so his legs were straddled. They were almost spread into the splits. One ladder he named "God's Will," and the other he named "My Will." He physically demonstrated that you can't climb them both. You have to put both feet on one ladder. Climbing one prevents you from climbing the other. It was a great visual demonstration of trying to serve two masters. Can't be done.

RIck (00:54:12): "Seek first His kingdom." Seek first. Everything else falls into place. You can take care of all of the experiences and all the responsibilities of life if you "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." Jonathan, we've got more recipe here for Happy Christian Living:

Jonathan (00:54:31): Jesus has assured us over and over again that we, as his followers, are in the absolute focus of God's eyes. Believing and embracing this fact deflates the strength of our anxiety and feeds the happiness of our Christian mindset.

Julie (00:54:47): But of course, we need to ask ourselves, "Am I deflating my anxieties daily or am I regularly expanding them?"

RIck (00:54:56): Again, when we talk about anxiety, a lot of times we talk to ourselves and say, "Okay, stop being anxious. Stop. I'm just going to stop. I know God loves me. I know there's the promises. You can read the promises." You can't talk anxiety away. However, talking can be the open door to acting anxiety away. Change your state. It's the happiness that leads to contentment. It's the state of mind that leads to the state of being. If you have anxiety issues, one small step at a time, work on your state of mind and state of being and that one small thing, then go on to the next thing and the next thing. God does "cause all things to work together for good." But the Apostle Paul doesn't stop there. Oh, no, no, no. He's got plenty more to say. Romans 8:35-37:

Jonathan (00:55:42): "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, for your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him (Christ) who loved us." Since we sacrifice our wills daily to do God's will, do we allow the trials and the struggles we face to draw us closer to Jesus who loves us? If so, we truly have contentment or happiness in Christ. Here's another great quote from "The Christian Secret to a Happy Life." "Perfect obedience would be perfect happiness, if only we had perfect confidence in the power we were obeying."

Julie (00:56:31): That's really well said. Christian happiness is embracing--whew, this is the hard part--sacrifice and trial as the method to conquer on behalf of God's plan through Jesus. Said another way, sacrifice and trials are tools of growing and showing faithfulness in Christ. We look at Daniel 12:12-13: "How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age." Now the 12th chapter of Daniel is a prophecy about the return of Christ and the events surrounding his second advent. We're not going to get into the math, the chronology that this points out. The point here is that Daniel was shown future events of our day that he didn't understand and then he was told to "shut up the book." Those who would be watching for the Lord's return in our day here will be blessed. As far as Daniel, he was assured he would die, he'd be resurrected, but he would receive his reward for faithfulness, which we know from other scriptures is back on earth. Even under many adversities, Daniel lived a happy, contented life as a prophet of God.

RIck (00:57:46): There wasn't euphoria. There was the contentedness of following God's word, writing those things that angels revealed to him, and being faithful. The contentedness of his prophetic life; it's a beautiful, beautiful picture. Let's look further. Jesus himself did not mince words about what the life of a disciple might require. We're going to be looking at Matthew 10:29-31, but Jesus is telling his disciples, before we get to those verses, "Look, life is going to be hard for you. You're going to face challenges that you never thought possible. There's going to be big things that are going to be coming after you. There are those who are going to try and will kill you." Remember Steven? You've got all of these difficult things and here's what he says. Matthew 10:29-31:

Jonathan (00:58:32): "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows."

Julie (00:58:45): One of the concepts from the book we keep quoting from was that daily without thinking, we put ourselves in the hands of others, like pilots, train conductors, waiters, butchers. All have the ability to cause us to literally die by crashing or poisoning us or giving us contaminated food, and we don't give it a second thought. But putting ourselves into the hands of the one, true Almighty God somehow gives us pause and causes us to take back our worries to control ourselves. Just doesn't make any sense.

RIck (00:59:18): It doesn't, unless you're thinking in an earthly fashion. Then it makes perfect sense. But the Christian's secret to happy living is to think with that spiritual mind that the apostle told us as we began this walkthrough, Romans eight. Jonathan, Happy Christian Living:

Jonathan (00:59:36): Having put anxiety away through the conviction of God's care, we can now be strongly positioned for a truly sacrificial life. Christian happiness actually thrives in sacrifice for we know that this is the pathway to truly conquering through our Father's care and direction.

Julie (00:59:55): Our question is, "Do I see the power of godly sacrifice daily or do I lean towards ways to avoid it?"

RIck (01:00:04): Take your time on that one. That's a good one.

Julie (01:00:06): Lot of ways to justify doing what we want to do.

RIck (01:00:09): That's right. That's right. But the question is, "Is what I'm doing leading me to that happiness, that state of mind that is even, that is level, that is progressing?" Let's keep going, let's go further.

Jonathan (01:00:24): Here's Paul's conclusion. Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." We have to ask ourselves, "Do I have such trust and conviction in God working in me to stand firm and not allow anything to separate His love and purpose for my life, like Paul?" If so, we have appropriate happiness.

Julie (01:00:59): It's been said that the only thing that can separate us from the love of God is ourselves. Christian happiness is the conviction that our active faith brings God's immortal protection to us on every level. We cannot be separated from him. Psalm 40:4 says, "How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood." Again, one more quote from our contributor, Val: "Happiness is the reality of the choice of living a joyful life. It's a hundred percent dependent on where and whom your hope lies in."

RIck (01:01:40): Remember Christian happiness is that evenness. It's not an emotion. It's a state of mind that's level, that understands and is able to say, this is all good, even if it doesn't feel good at this point. Let's begin to conclude here. Looking back, we can see how much time Jesus invested into our Christian happiness on the night before he was crucified. We already referenced that night. Let's go back to it one more time, John 13:12-17:

Jonathan (01:02:10): "So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments and reclined at the table again, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

RIck (01:02:28): In this verse, Jesus is saying, "Here's a way to be happy. Wash each other's feet. Do something, do the kind of service that others wouldn't think of, that seems to be lowly." What Jesus is saying is, "Take yourself out of yourself and put yourself into a position of serving others." This is the Lord doing this. He's not just saying it. He showed us how. Let's continue with 15-17:

Jonathan (01:02:57): "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."

RIck (01:03:13): Knowing is great. Doing them is a successful Christian happy life. You are blessed. You are happy if you do the things that not only Jesus has told us, but the things that he showed us. Jonathan, finally, Happy Christian Living:

Jonathan (01:03:36): Through Jesus, God has called us to a life of growth, change, trial, anxiety, pain, and even suffering. To be able to thrive in all of this, He gave us His son, the man Christ Jesus, to show us exactly how to thrive and be happy and fulfilled in this context.

Julie (01:03:56): Christian happiness is not only attainable, but God expects it from us. After we've looked at all these things in this episode, we want to ask, "What do I expect?" I think our answers might be a little different than they were an hour ago. God gives us every tool conceivable to give us Christian happiness. Am I building my expectations up with what God has given or what the world pushes on me? I can choose to be happy in God through Christ, or I can choose to be anxious in the world through Satan. One last quote from me: Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Happiness is not a goal; it is a byproduct."

RIck (01:04:34): What am I going to do with the things that I have heard here today? What kind of Christian happiness decisions will I make? Because folks, this is not a feeling, it's a decision. It's looking at the circumstances of your life, looking at the things that have happened and looking at the things that you have the opportunity to learn and say, "Where am I with this?" If you have anxiety, it's okay. It's okay. Take the small steps to apply the evenness of the state of mind that Romans 8 gives us so that we can stand above and beyond all of these things and live a happy Christian life. Think about it. Folks, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other [email protected]. Coming up in our next episode, "What is Your Ebenezer?" Interesting. We'll talk to you about that next week.

Fina (01:05:31): copyright @2023 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.