Week one: Cheerfulness/Happiness/Joy

First, let’s define it.

Cheer: The noun is a shout of encouragement or applause; the verb is to comfort, to gladden.

Cheerful: This is the adjective; it means happy, contented, in good spirits, pleasantly bright.

As we consider cheerfulness, we must remember that this is not about having a naturally cheerful disposition, but rather choosing to be a cheerful person even when we do not feel like it or even if we are not naturally cheerful. We all like to be around cheerful people, not gloomy people. Though Eeyore is a likeable character in Winnie the Pooh, the author is making fun of his gloomy disposition. Tigger is the exaggerated form of the cheerful soul. We want to strike a balance so that we are neither of these extremes.

The source and direction of our happiness is of course God. He enables us to be happy, and we glorify Him by being happy. Cheerfulness is something that should characterize our lives; we should not be cheerful from time to time, but rather consistently.

We have a duty as Christians to be cheerful. Look at the verses below. Happiness is the result of having our sins forgiven, the result of being God’s children. We have no excuse!

Ps. 144:15 Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

Ps. 146.5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

Matt. 9:2 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Let’s consider some of the circumstances or actions that call for and result in cheerfulness.

1. Giving: 2. Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Whether we are giving someone a ride, a drink, an encouraging word, money, or help of any kind, we should be giving gladly. God does not delight in our giving if it is done half-heartedly or with a grumpy spirit. When we purpose to do so cheerfully, we receive a blessing from God.

2. Singing: James 5:13 Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

Singing is an outlet for our happiness, whether it is at church, at home, in the car, or at study groups.

3. Showing mercy: Romans 12:8 He who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Showing mercy is being considerate toward others whether they are students, instructors, the elderly, the lonely, those who are in need, or little kids. We are to be hospitable without grumbling. Proverbs 14:21 says, He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. Good deeds of all kinds are acts of mercy. The result of such good works is happiness. God bestows a blessing on us when we are kind to others.

4. Fearing the Lord and Walking with Him:

Ps. 128:1 Blessed [or happy] is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.

This means that we are not to fear our enemies, but rather we should fear God who delivers us. Thomas Watson, the great Puritan preacher, said, “Faith keeps the heart cheerful, fear keeps the heart serious.” We are to walk uprightly before the Lord, and we will be happy people. To fear the Lord is to worship Him. The Lord’s Supper strengthens us, revives our hope, and increases our joy. Communion with the saints blesses us and refreshes us. We are to continue steadfastly in prayer (Romans 12:12). When discussing prayer, Watson said, “It is a key that unlocks the treasury of God’s mercy. Prayer keeps the heart open to God and shut to sin.”

5. Working and Eating: (Ps.128:2) When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. When we walk in the fear of the Lord, all we do is done unto Him. So as we eat the fruit of our labor, we will be cheerful and thankful.

We are to serve the Lord “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit” (Rom. 12:11). As we work hard before the Lord, we are blessed with happiness in Him.

6. Finding Wisdom: Proverbs 3:13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.

We find wisdom when we seek it diligently. That means we pay attention to the Word preached; we seek instruction, guidance, and counsel from God’s Word. We must take the pursuit of wisdom seriously, and God promises that we will be happy when we find it.

7. Heeding the Word and Trusting the Lord: Proverbs 16:20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.

This means that not only do we hear and learn wisdom, we do it. This is very important because just hearing the Word is not enough. We want to be doers not just hearers. So when you learn something, apply it. Otherwise you will lose the ground you have gained. Notice that we are happy when we trust the Lord. When we drift away and become worrisome or self-absorbed, we lose our joy.

8. Keeping the law: Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.

What a blessing it is to have God’s law written on our hearts and to have a regenerated heart that wants to obey God. When we obey Him, we are happy. It sounds very simple, because it is simple. Sometimes it is hard to obey, but it is never impossible. God has promised to give us His Spirit, and by the means of the Spirit, we are enabled to do what is right.

What hinders cheerfulness? Sin is always the culprit. Here are three broad headings of sin that keeps us from being cheerful people.

1. Unbelief: Unbelief is forgetfulness. We forget who we are in Christ; we forget how glorious and powerful our God is. We forget His promises to us, and all this causes us to lose heart.

2. Impatience: We become full of ourselves and forget how patient God has been with us. We want instant sanctification (for ourselves or others) or instant answers to our prayers. God is working His will in the world. We must not lose sight of His sovereign control over all things.

3. Ingratitude: When we fail to be thankful to God for all things, we quickly forget how much God has done in and for us. We think more highly of ourselves than we ought and think we “deserve” better treatment.

These ugly attitudes often manifest themselves in murmuring, complaining, grumbling, self-pity, and other manifestations of discontent. This is unworthy of a Christian. Philippians 2:4 says, “Do all things without murmuring or disputing.” Remember that murmuring not only will not make things better; it makes things worse.

It has several bad effects on you and on others:

1. It is a bad example and can stumble others into the same sin.

2. It distracts you from the duties that God has given you to do.

3. It often leads to other sins like self-pity, worry, annoyance, and disrespect.

4. Hearing yourself complain just reinforces it in your mind and makes it seem even worse than it is.

5. Complaining is not only unproductive (nothing good comes of it), but it is destructive. It tears people down.

6. Complaining is just a big waste of time. You could be doing something worthwhile.

7. God hates murmuring and He will judge it!

A few questions for discussion:

How can we be cheerful when we don’t feel like it?

How do we stay cheerful and happy in the midst of a trial?

How can we be cheerful around others who need to cheer up without being a cause for stumbling?

How can we correct the bad habit of mumbling and complaining?

If we find ourselves doing outwardly good things (like showing hospitality) with an inwardly grudging spirit, how can we correct it?