Ever Wondered How to be Happy?

I know social media is the "in" thing nowadays and I do "partake" daily of some of its offerings, but occasionally it brings sad, maddening, disgusting things to light, besides all of my friends' events and pictures, likes, comments, etc. of course, and it's kind of a bummer.   Today though, I ran across a video that had a unique title, so I fell for it and was pleasantly surprised by the content.  You may wonder why I share it because it seemingly has nothing to do with God, as is my usual offering on this blog, but it seems to me that sometimes, things in the world just prove what He has been trying to say to us through His Word for centuries and He has to bring it out through a "scientific" venue, to make anyone listen.

Please take a few minutes to watch...I promise it'll have a positive impact in your life for a little while anyway, and maybe even longer!

Discover How to be Happy

Along the lines of gratefulness and thankfulness and the effects they have on us, I'd like to share a scripture with you that exemplifies why God wants us to be thankful.

"As He went on His way to Jerusalem, it occurred that [Jesus] was passing [along the border] between Samaria and Galilee.  and as He was going into one village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance.  And they raised up their voices and called, "Jesus, Master, take pity and have mercy on us!"  And when He saw them, He said to them, Go [at once] and show yourselves to the priests.  And as they went, they were cured and made clean. [Leviticus 14:2-32 talks about lepers and cleansing]  Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice; And he fell prostrate at Jesus' feet, thanking Him [over and over].  And he was a Samaritan.  Then Jesus asked, "Were not [all] ten cleansed?  Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien?"  And He said to him, "Get up and go on your way.  Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health."  Luke 17:11-19  The Amplified Bible

Here we have 10 guys walking along the road when they spot Jesus.  They know He's been called a miracle worker so since they have a deadly serious illness that causes parts of their body to decay and fall from their bodies, it had to be worth a shot to see if Jesus would help them.  Fortunately for them, Jesus took pity on them and following God's direction healed them all.  But, they still had to use their faith by following His instructions to go to the priests to declare they had been healed in order to activate the healing.  Many of them had lost fingers, toes, ears, and other body parts, but now the disease was no longer ravaging their bodies to do further damage.

As they walked, I'm sure they talked amongst themselves about this miracle happening to them, but only one of them, a Samaritan--lowliest human on the social ladder in those days, scum of the earth, felt that he wanted to say a personal thank you to the One who gave him such incredible mercy.  When he returned to thank the Master, Jesus wanted to know where all the others were.  Were they not grateful as well?

As Jesus acknowledged the man's faith, confidence in God, and thankful heart, He said that his actions had put into motion a complete and total healing in his body.  All the parts that had been missing from his body because of the disease, had been recreated and he was made "every whit whole."

So, nine guys went away healed of the disease but were left for the rest of their lives with missing parts because they didn't consider it important enough to say thank you.  The one who was willing to show his gratefulness went away completely whole.

Happy?  Yeah, you bet he was happy!

What about you?  Are you happy?  Well, if you could use a little more happiness in your life, take a tip from the Samaritan.  Go to God and thank Him for everything...hot running water for your morning shower, food to eat, clothes to wear, a roof over your head, and so on and so on.  If you don't have everything you want in life, tell him you're thankful for that too.  There's a good reason we don't get everything we want sometimes.  He knows some things aren't good for us!  Or, we need to mature a little before we can handle some of the things He wants to entrust us with.

Check your Happy-O-Meter...if you need more happy...give appreciation, be thankful.  You'll be amazed at what God will do!