Isn't It A Beautiful Day?!

Isn’t it a beautiful day?! Someone is always ready to take exception with that phrase but think about it. We’re alive (at least, I assume you are since you are reading my post), and we were all able to wake up and read, and that is a blessing that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Not everyone can say the same. 

I’m on a diet that is supposed to reset my metabolism, and one of the things I can have is nuts. Not as many as I want, but I can have eighteen. 

Does anyone out there have a nut allergy to the point where if you didn’t receive medical intervention, you would die? 

I’m sure that seems like an odd question, and in fact, this whole post, as I’m sure you will admit, has been pretty odd up to this point. There is an explanation, I assure you, and it has nothing to do with morning drinking. 

Just being able to eat nuts without dying is something that all of us have probably taken for granted, yet it is something to be thankful to God for. We can enjoy delicious nuts without having to endure the suffering that comes with a nut allergy. This is something relatively simple, a rather minor thing when we really think about it. Our world won’t end if we can’t eat nuts, and we certainly won’t starve to death, but it serves as an example of something larger. 

How many other things has God given us that we take for granted daily? 

How about being able to breathe without having to carry around an oxygen supply? I have multiple patients who can’t go anywhere without having to lug an oxygen bottle around. It doesn’t look fun, and they certainly can’t be as mobile as they once were. 

Clean air, food, clean water, a warm building to meet in, cars with heat, a place to lay our heads at night, a church family to meet with, etc. I’m sure if we took the time and really thought about it, we could come up with dozens and dozens of blessings like these that we usually take for granted. 

We owe everything to God, and everything we have belongs to Him. 

Psalms 89:11 ESV The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

Anything we have, we have because He gave it to us, and He can take it all away again, just as He did with Job. Our lives are fragile things, and they change in mere moments. What we have today, we very likely may not have tomorrow. We should be thankful today because today might be all there is. 

Happiness tends to be based on our surroundings and what is happening to us at the moment, but there’s something else entirely that doesn’t depend on what is happening to us or what our surroundings are. This conversation has come up quite a bit with my wife, and that other thing is joy. Joy doesn’t depend on our circumstances or what is happening to us at the moment; joy is rooted in another place. 

In the New Testament, the word for joy is the Greek word chara, Strong’s number 5479. It means cheerfulness or to be exceedingly glad. Granted, this is a similar definition of happiness; for the sake of clarity and making a distinction, joy suits our purposes better. By the end of this message, I would like to bring happiness back in and demonstrate that true happiness is rooted in the same place as joy. 

Joy is a choice and one that we make every day. It doesn’t depend on our circumstances or on our possessions; it comes from somewhere else. Let’s turn to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16, and let’s start in verse 22. 

Acts 16:22-25 KJV And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat [them].

23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 

24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Some of your Bibles probably say something different than “praises” however, that word is indeed correct. The Greek word means to celebrate God in song. Even though they were beaten and bloody, lying with their feet in stocks, they still celebrated God in song! If anyone was ever in a position to be down and miserable, it was these two guys, but instead, they chose to sing praises to God. 

God used their joy to convert a Roman jailor and his entire household. If Paul and Silas had been down and depressed, moaning and groaning in their cell, would they have been a Testament to God? These men had every right to be miserable! They had every right to be moaning and groaning! They’d just been beaten to the point of being bloodied. As I said, joy is a choice, and these men chose joy.

Philippians 2:17-18 ESV Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 

18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

How were they able to do that? What kind of mindset would possibly allow us, let alone these two in chains, to choose joy? What is their secret?

Philippians 4:11-13 ESV Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 

12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Ah, yes, contentment. That is the secret to their ability to choose joy, and the secret to contentment is having that contentment based on Christ. Content that whatever God brings our way will be sufficient and whatever plan He has for us is for our ultimate good. Whatever trial we are going through is going to strengthen us or those around us, and He will bring us through; we just have to trust Him. We can do all things through Him, according to His will. Whether we live or die, we can rest content that His perfect will will work as long as we stay faithful to Him.

Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 

6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

We really have nothing to fear or stress about in this world of ours. The Lord is on our side, and man can do nothing to us outside the will of God, let alone a disease or injury. Now, being content doesn’t mean that we can’t desire things, make plans, or have dreams of where we want our lives to go, but it does mean that we look to God for our direction and that we put Him first. We can’t hold up things as more important than the one who gave them to us. Notice that Paul doesn’t say to keep your life free from money; Paul says to keep your life free from the love of money. Elsewhere, it says that love of money is the root of all evil. Having things isn’t an issue, but love of things is the root of all wickedness. 

1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV But godliness with contentment is great gain, 

7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 

8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 

We will leave this world with exactly what we brought into it, nothing more, nothing less. Again, we see here that the love of things will bring us to our destruction. When we put things ahead of our creator, we make it into idolatry. Covetousness at its heart is idolatry because we put something else into the place of God, and we forget where all our blessings really come from. We forget the creator and mistake the creation for the gifter as well as the gift. We earned it, didn’t we? Well, no, there are things we can do to bring things into our houses. We work to earn money to buy food and clothing, but the ability to work comes from God. The fact that there is even anything on the shelves to buy comes from God. Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

The secret to contentment is thankfulness, which is the real secret to joy and happiness. If we give thanks to God for what He has given us, we will be content. We trust that He knows what is best for us, we give thanks for what He has given us, and we are content. True happiness comes from obeying God and recognizing where we get everything that we have. Giving thanks to God for His every blessing puts us into the right frame of mind to always have joy and contentment. 

Romans 8:28 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Why do all things work together for good for those who love God? Because every work God does in our life, everything that comes our way when we serve God is for our good. It’s either for our spiritual good or our physical good, but it is for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. 

We are witnesses to those around us of the joy that serving God brings. Our lives and examples are tools that God uses to bring more sheep into His flock. Even though it may not feel good at the time, it is for our good and for the good of those He has called. How can we choose anything else but joy and give thanks in all things?

Of course, we will sing praises to God even though we are in chains, in pain, and bleeding! God gave us our lives and protected us from broken bones! He has taken care of us and will bring us out of here in His time. What do we have to be sad about when God has given us so much? — –Paul and Silas, probably. 

Let’s look at Matthew chapter 6 because we will be reading quite a bit from there.

Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

When we put God first, everything else will be added. Not because we earned it but because God loves and cares for us. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, who will take care of us. We don’t have to worry about where we will live if we will have clothes to wear, if we can eat, or what is going on in the world. God will take care of it for us because He knows what we need and loves us. 

Matthew 6:25-34 ESV "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 

29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Since getting married, one of the hardest struggles in my life has been learning to turn everything over to God and trust Him when He says He will provide what we need. It’s my job as the husband to care for and provide for my family, to go out and work and bring home food, but it is God who makes it possible and brings everything to us that we need when we need it. He gave me the job to earn the money to buy food, and He gave us the roof over our heads, just as it was God who brought my wife and I together at just the right time to get married. God gives us our health and takes away our health to teach us faith in Him. 

As Paul closes out his first letter to the Thessalonians, he gives them and us some final instructions on Christian living that apply to our topic here today.   

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV Rejoice always, 

17 pray without ceasing, 

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

You don’t have to worry or stress because God will provide for you. All you have to do is put God first and seek you first, His kingdom. Pray and give thanks always for what He has done in your life. 

We all have tasks in life to accomplish, but even these are a gift from God. Something to do to grow so we don’t get bored. We labor so that we can eat, and there is nothing sweeter than eating the labor of one's hands, the produce of which is a gift from God. Then, after six days of labor, He gave us another gift. A day of rest to reconnect with Him, the Sabbath. Everything is a gift from our ever-wise and loving creator, given as a blessing. 

When we are thankful for what He has given us, for every blessing, no matter how small, then we have already chosen joy. We are content, and we know from whom all blessings flow. How can we help but sing praises in joy to our God? We have everything we need and even some things that we don’t. We serve a loving and generous creator!     

Philippians 4:4-7 ESV Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 

5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Give thanks to God this Sabbath day for what He has given you: your family, your calling, a place to lay your head, peace, the weather, a day to rest, and yes, even the absence of a nut allergy.