I was talking with my partner Wednesday at work. Somehow we got on the subject of our outward appearance. It was a very personal conversation but one of the things we discussed is how emotions affect how we look. Most likely we all know someone whose mood directly influences their appearance.
We talked about how some people just seem to glow from the inside when they are in a good mood. Happiness radiates from them. Everyone who sees them knows they are happy simply by observing how they look.
An inner glow is attractive. It looks good on anyone and everyone! People want to be around other people who are joyful. We always feel better around someone like this, right? Their mood is infectious!
Most of us already know happy people attract others to them, but studies have proved it. We like to be around people who like to laugh and smile. These are the folks who are positive, who always try to find the good in any situation and who have the gift of making others around them feel special.
There are many scriptures relating to happiness, and others relate to sadness, but Proverbs 15:13 actually touches on both.
"A glad heart makes a cheerful face; but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed" (ESV).
Just as we can often tell when someone is in a good mood by looking at them, we can usually tell when someone is not in a good mood. We can see the "glow" of joy; but we can also see the "growl" of discontent. And who wants to be around that?
Sometimes when we see the growler headed our way, all we can think in our head is "run, kid, run." We don't want to be the recipient of their wrath; nor do we want to hear the endless complaints. A growler's spirit can be many things: angry, bitter, pessimistic, or just apathetic.
Being in a bad mood effects a person's appearance. They look more harsh. Their faces are often full of frowns - with brows knit together. They have a dull, dark look about them.
The point is most of us don't want to be around a growler. These folks also have a heavy influence. They bring others down instead of lifting them up. They find something wrong with almost everything. There is no glow about them.
Almost all of us would rather be glowing than growling. Yet, the struggle is real. The truth is most of the time we are somewhere in between. I want to smile -- I want to be the one who encourages others - who lifts a friend's spirits -- who is joyful and happy.
Then somehow I let something or someone get in the way of that. Pooff! My balloon is burst. The joyful glow is gone. I don't think I'm alone in this struggle. I only mentioned myself because I know it isn't easy to keep a good attitude going.
It could be a new policy at work we don't like, or we might hear someone brag about themselves or say something negative about someone else. Maybe someone pulls out in front of us on the way to work and we end up letting it ruin our whole day. It could be a child who forgot his homework or it could be a spouse who made a careless comment which hurt our feelings.
The point is it takes diligence -- deliberate effort to find joy in your day. It is much easier to either be neutral or to be a growler. Letting our happiness shine through is much more difficult. Yet it is worth it.
Christians are commanded - yes commanded to "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4). We must do this -- we must learn to do this. We represent Christ - how can we draw others to Him if we make them run the other way because of our sour faces?
Christians should be the happiest people in the world because of the hope we have. We should "glow" because we have the love of God within us. Knowing the blood of Christ freed us from our sins should help us understand how precious we are to our Savior. We have so many reasons to rejoice in Christ.
One thing which has helped me lately is to remember to be thankful. Besides thanking God through prayer, I started a "thankful journal." This is not an original idea. I read it in a book and it is probably not original with the author either.
Anyway, the idea is to write in a journal on a daily basis. List three new things to be thankful for. At first I just listed three things - #1, #2, #3 that's it. I would close the book and go on with my daily routine.
But after a few days I began to write a couple of sentences for why I am thankful for these things. My journal got more and more detailed and my thoughts focused on my blessings more and more.
Yes it helped me develop a greater sense of joy.
Remember we are about the Father's business. Choosing to serve Him and bring others to Him will help us understand how important it is to exhibit a joyful heart. Besides that, it improves our looks too!
"Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to His holy name."
(Psalms 97:11-12)
Christ above all things,
Robin
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