There was a poor man who lived a small village. One day his only valuable possession, his horse, ran off. His neighbor said, "This is the worst thing that could ever happen!" The man replied, "We will see."
The next day the prized horse returned to the man with a stampede of wild stallions. The neighbor exclaimed, "This the greatest thing that could ever happen!" The man responded, "We will see."
The following day the man's son rode one of the wild stallions, fell, and severely broke his leg and would walk with a limp for the rest of his life. The neighbor despaired, "This is the worst thing that could ever happen!" But the man still said, "We will see."
On the fourth day, the Red Army came knocking on the man's door to draft soldiers for a bloody war. They could not draft the man's son because of his broken leg. The neighbor delighted, "This the greatest thing that could ever happen!" The man mutedly said, "We will see..."
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If one were to put happiness on a scale of 1-10, I would prefer to flow between 4-7, staying as close to 7 as possible. It's good to be happy, and it's good to experience unhappiness to appreciate and recognize happiness when you attain it. But much like a pendulum, when you reach a 10, the only place to go is down, and it is often a hard fall.
This is why Solomon said, “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3:25-26 (NIV). The truth is that we each need to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” If we each, “in all your ways acknowledge him…he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6. The poor man in the village had no understanding
The Lord is our rock. If we delight in Him, we can never fail, fall, or fatigue. Instead, we will always be happy, healthy, and healed. These are not absolutes, though. We can still feel burdened and let down. That is human nature, people disappoint. Only Jesus was perfect. But if we strive to act like him and ask, “What would Jesus do?” we just might be happy more often than sad, having the energy and motivation to accomplish a lot more good, thus bringing more joy to others.
Take the Genesis story of Joseph and his brothers, for example. Joseph had his father’s favor and a richly ornamented robe. He received dreams of grandeur, where all bowed to him. He did not bask in the dreams, rather shared them with his brothers. His brothers despaired, stripped Joseph of his robe, and sold him into slavery. Jacob, his father, thought Joseph dead, so he wept; but there was no need because he lived, and prospered.
Meanwhile, Joseph’s brother, Judah, ran amuck, sleeping around, and forcing others to sleep around. This angered the Lord, so He struck many down. Joseph, however, maintained his chastity in Egypt. His master, Potiphar, put him in charge of his home. Joseph recognized how relatively good he had it and refused Potiphar’s wife come-ons. But she eventually framed him, and Joseph was thrown in jail. Buuut, “the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” Genesis 39:21. And Joseph ran the prison as well. In his gratitude, Joseph freely interpret the dreams of fellow inmates as a favor.
After two years, one of the inmates informed the Pharaoh of Joseph’s skills. Joseph was able to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams and was given the keys to Egypt, saving food during a famine. His brothers fatly ate before the famine and starved. This gave Joseph the chance to encounter his brothers after 13 years, putting them to the test. They freaked and so did Jacob, their father! They spent so much time worrying about what Joseph would do to them, but he had only compassion for his brothers. In fact, at the sight of his youngest brother, Benjamin, Joseph wept. He realized how fortunate he was to be with his family once more; in his gratitude to the Lord, Joseph gave five times the portion of food to Benjamin and the family feasted together.
When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he forgave: “‘And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.’” Genesis 45:5. He looked on the bright side of the road, the Godly side. His dreams of all bowing to him had been fulfilled, but only by being sold into slavery could the prophesy be fulfilled. It was God’s plan.
As such, even upon their father’s death, Joseph reassured his brothers of his forgiveness and lived in prosperity.
This started out as an argument to maintain a steady level of happiness. It still is, but I think it’s also true that to persevere in happiness, one must have faith in God. His will is to be done, not ours. And if God is good, then all things thrown our way are of Him, and as are good. Therefore, we can celebrate each joy, each tragedy, and each neutrality to His glory. That alone has the power to bring us happiness, if we let it.
It’s all about faith. After all, it all works out in the end, there’s no other way!
