Are you willing to be happy? I suppose to some this may appear to be a rather foolish question. Of course, you say, “Who doesn’t want to be happy?”
Excuse me, my question wasn’t, “Don’t you want to be happy?” I didn’t ask that. I said, “Are you willing to be happy!” I am fully aware of the fact that everyone wants to be happy; that’s no question at all. The real question is “Are you willing?”
Someone may ask, “What are you getting at? What are you trying to say?” Well, let’s begin with some facts that are pretty common to human experience. There seems to be an awful lot of restless and unhappy people in this world of ours, and all of them will tell you they want to be happy. For some reason or other, they just never seem to make the grade. One would think that with such a unanimous vote for happiness people would win by a landslide.
The unfortunate truth is that every one of us seems to be subject to a certain amount of unhappiness and usually more than we really want or are entitled to. Too much unhappiness is not good. Too little happiness is not good. Too much or too little of anything is not good. Just enough of everything is just right!
You see, what I am trying to point out is something that may come as a surprise to you, but everyone must know this. It is we, that is you and I, are the only ones who are standing in the way of our happiness. You may not like that answer; but whether we like it or not, that’s the way it is!
We may blame our state of affairs upon this person, or that thing, or this reason over here, or that reason over there; but the only real reason is the one we are building in our mind--our thoughts. That’s where reason does its work.
There is no one on God’s earth that can resist or establish happiness within ourselves but us ourselves. Yes, it is we, you and I, who are the paramount instrument--the hinges upon which the door of happiness swings to open or to close.
You see, you and I have a will. If we are willing, we can will just about anything that we want. Inevitably, it is we who must approve or disapprove. I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who once said, “I guess people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
I would like to put it another way; “People are just as happy as they are willing to be.” You see, I don’t know if it has ever dawned upon you, but the word “willing” is a verb, just like the word running or jumping or believing. It is not passive; it is active! A verb always denotes action. It is a voluntary act of the will whether it is in thought or deed.
When we finally realize that neither happiness nor unhappiness can intrude into our lives without our consent, we will realize too that we are the ones who have the responsibility in the matter!
Nothing can enter our minds and stay but that which we have made welcome. We may try to fool others and we may succeed in fooling ourselves, but at long last we are still just fools--people deceived!
Would you like me to say it again? Maybe you wouldn’t! Nothing can enter our minds and affect our will but for that which we make room!
We possess a will; no one can violate it. Regardless, of whether persuasion by friend or pressure by foe, no one on the face of God’s earth can exercise our will but us, absolutely no one. Something may make us willing, but it is we who finally make the decision.
Neither the doctor, nor the policeman, nor the Lord, nor the devil can exercise that which wholly and sacredly belongs to us. Oh yes, I suppose that the Almighty could bowl us over like bowling pins, but He won’t.
If we really and truly want to be happy, then, my friend, we must quit wishing and start willing. Wishing alone has never done the trick. Wishing has never done anything for anyone. It has never gotten off the ground. It is a dormant, idle, sentiment--a dream that never makes its dream come true. It is a mocker and we are the ones who end up being mocked.
If you want happiness, then you must be willing to receive it--not on your terms, but on its terms. You must make room for it. You must also stop thinking and talking about all the things that prevent it. You must turn by an act of will from that which undermines and destroys you to that which nourishes and strengthens you. You must feed upon constructive thought rather than destructive thought.
You must finally now make a decision. You must make it as though there were nothing else from which to choose. It’s happiness now or nothing! No one can do it for you. You must take that first step towards happiness. You must move in the direction of happiness. You must saturate your mind with the thought of that which will make you happy. You must forget all of the past that troubles you, remember it no more; it is gone!
If you have not been able to find happiness here on earth, then you must begin now looking for it in heaven, Not some day, but now! All of your thought, all of your energy, all of your desire, all of your longing, all of your will must lean, fall, and go towards that which is conducive to happiness!
You must by an act of WILL identify your person with that which can help you.
It is you that must do it! No one can do it for you. Neither your doctor, your pastor, your wife, nor your husband can make the decision for you. It is yours alone to make and yet you are not alone. You must understand it is your happiness that is at stake, not anyone else’s on the face of God’s earth.
I will at this time make a suggestion. I wish to refer you to someone with proper credentials. Someone you can trust and someone who will help you and be your friend. It is, of course, God.
He comes very highly recommended. He recommends Himself. In fact, He is as high as you can get. You can come to know Him through Jesus Christ. He won’t force you to be happy, but if you are willing, He will show you the way.
Well, it’s up to you. You can settle for the never- ending promise of happiness unhappiness promises you, or you can make a definite choice in the right direction. It is no wonder Christ said, “Choose you this day.” We must make our choice every moment each and every day. If we choose the right thing, we will begin to enjoy what the Bible means when it says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Maybe we could say the time has come for you to tell the devil where to go--after all, God did!
Warren D. Rogers