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I have
seen many people who are not happy with their lives.
Perhaps life has been very hard for them. Out of those,
the week, fragile and sensitive persons often end up
depressed, insane or commit suicide unable to bear the
burdens of life. You may think it is prevalent in
economically backward sections of the society. But the
fact is it has very little to do with one's economic
background. The English poet P.B. Shelley wrote in his
'Ode to the West Wind':
“Oh! Lift me as a wave, a cloud, a leaf!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!”
A large number of people across the sections of society
consider life as a bed of thorns. The main reason is
their disappointment with life. Disappointments come
because of false expectations, due to a lack of proper
knowledge of what life is all about. Yes, they don't
know what life is, where it comes from and how precious
it is. It is heart-rending to read about the suicides of
children as young as 12 years old, perhaps just for
failing in an exam or getting scolded by a teacher or
parent. It is ironic that sometimes even rich
celebrities who have achieved everything in life
according to worldly standards fame, wealth, influence,
power, pleasures, etc. fall to depression and suicide.
They simply don't know what the Creator intended man's
life to be. The prophet, Jeremiah says, “I know O Lord,
that a man's life is not his own” (10:23). This is the
most important fact one should understand.
Life is one of the most precious gifts of God to us. And
it is essentially good. It is so wonderful that a person
gets a chance to live in this magnificent planet called
earth which is specially created by God for mankind.
Each person's life is a gift of that loving Creator. Man
has a tendency to cherish gifts given by their best
friends. Your life is a precious gift given to you by
your 'Best Friend'. It is to be cherished and cared for
as a precious gift. Life is not to be wasted in
complaining, murmuring and moaning. We should be
grateful to God for this precious life. It is our once
in a life-time opportunity to observe and experience
this beautiful planet by living in a physical body. Each
day is a gift of God. The Psalmist says: “This is the
day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”
(118:24). Being thankful to God is a way of showing our
gratefulness to Him for this life. When we murmur and
think that life is a burden, we are being ungrateful to
God. The Bible says: “Cast al
l your anxiety (burden) on him (Jesus) because he cares
for you.” Jesus has made us free from the burden of sin
so that we may walk free.
You may say that, “My life has been a failure. I have
nothing to be happy about. I am very poor; etc. etc.”
Jesus said that, “a man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). We tend to
measure our lives by worldly standards. That is where
the disappointment comes. The fact that you are alive
now is itself a cause of great celebration. Millions
like you couldn't make it to the age when they can go to
school and learn to read. Even if you are a failure, to
be aware that you are a failure is something positive.
Because thousands like you have lost their mental
balance, and are now in mental asylums. You should thank
God that you are able to think in right perspective,
because from that deep pit your can build your life up,
thereby learning to cherish every event and situation in
your life.
Every person in your life is to be cherished. Your
parents come in priority. It was they who let you into
God's earth. They brought you up, nurtured and cared for
you and supported you all these years. Your other family
members are also equally important. Your class-mates,
friends and relatives all had a part in building you up
to where you are now. Your pastor, Sunday school
teachers and fellow-believers have played/ been playing
an important role in building you up spiritually.
Actually, the people who fight with us, who revile us,
who try to provoke us to anger, etc. are all being used
by God to polish our rough sides. They deserve special
thanks because they inculcate in you patience, humility,
forgiveness, longsuffering and other godly qualities.
Have you ever thanked God for them?
Your physical body is to be cherished, without which you
cannot live on this earth. Every day you can celebrate
that your body is breathing and sensitive and relaying
to you inputs about the surroundings through the five
senses faithfully and continually. Your heart has been
continually working without rest all these years since
the moment it is formed in your mother's womb. Your body
is a miracle. Millions of cells function in unison to
keep you alive and healthy. The blood cells carry oxygen
to all the cells and scavenge their waste. White blood
cells roam around the bloodstream to defend your body
from any attack of viruses or bacteria or any
micro-organisms. If any part of the body is
malfunctioning it warns you with pain or fever or any
discomfort so that you can pay attention to it, and get
the remedy, thereby preventing harm to or possible loss
of organs. To elaborate about the miraculous functions
of the body, volumes would not be enough. Just remember
that you are carried around by the most
miraculous body in the universe. The depth of meaning of
David's words, “I praise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made,” (Psalms 139:14) is being revealed day
by day as science unravels the functioning of the human
body.
Thank God that you are able to breath properly, drink a
glass of cold water and quench your thirst, take a
refreshing bath and eat proper food. If you have any
hesitation, just visit a hospital, and you will begin to
dance and celebrate. Don't move about in life with a
long and cast-down face as if the son doesn't shine for
you. People generally have a tendency to re-live their
wounds and disappointments, and nurture them to grow
into melancholic fruits. They tend to carry these
burdens with a “poor me”, “why always me, God” attitude.
They don't consider about the great life God has given
them. Their knowledge of the world is so limited that
they cannot look up and see that there are others around
them. Most people suffer from self-centredness. Jesus
said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew
10:39). What He meant was if you try to acquire
possessions for your life and try to pursue happiness
and pleasure, you will be miserable, never
be satisfied and you will lose your life. But if you
deny your desires in order to do God's will, that is, to
serve others, then you will find real life of joy.” God
wants man to take his attention away from himself. It
should be outward bound. Following Jesus, the source of
life, is the only way to ensure a life overflowing with
blessings and abundance which will flow out and bless
others. Jesus clearly demarked the priorities of a
Christian's life when He said, “But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33). Someone said,
that JOY means; Jesus, Others and You. In order to get a
fulfilling life this should be the order of preference
in our lives.
You can celebrate about your physical body. You can
celebrate about your parents, family, friends, church
and fellow-believers and on and on. Then you can
celebrate about your house. You may say, “I don't have
my own house”; “I am living in a rented house”; “I am
living in a slum”; “I am living in an old tiled house”,
“My house is dilapidated”, “My house leaks in the rain,
etc.” Similar complaints and murmurings can be many. But
even if you have reason to complain like this, rejoice,
because millions like you don't have a place even to lie
down. Millions go to sleep hungry with an empty stomach
in this world. You should be grateful that at least you
have a dwelling place, and food to eat. If you are
murmuring about a leaky house, remember many people die
in our country and agriculture is destroyed due to lack
of rain or water. Similarly, you can celebrate about
your education and job, however hard or less-paying it
is. At least you have an occupation. There are millions
of unemployed youth in our country. If you are not
employed yet, thank God and believe that He is going to
provide you a job.
For Christians, there are a lot of things to celebrate
continuously 24X7, 365 days a year. The almighty God,
the creator of the universe loves us. He sent his son,
Jesus to the world to be an atoning sacrifice for our
sins. Through His grace by faith we receive salvation
and eternal life. What a great life! If you are
murmuring about this life on earth, how can you spend
eternity in heaven? Learn to love life. Don't say that I
will love and cherish life when I get this and that.
Usually people say that, “I will be happy when I get a
lot of money to spend”; “I will be happy when I get
married, etc. etc.” If you are not happy now, you can
never be happy. Your joy should not be dependent on
external circumstances. Let Jesus be your joy. He is the
unchanging Rock. He is the source of joy. The Psalmist
says: “They feast on the abundance of your house; you
give them drink from your river of delights. For with
you is the fountain of life; in your light we see
light.”(36:8-9).
Every event in your life is meaningful. Every
circumstance in your life is valuable. Every person you
come across in your long journey of life is God-sent.
Every place you have visited, every meeting you have
attended, every sermon you have listened to, every book/
article you have read all these have significance. Every
temptation, every failure, every victory in life is
there with a purpose. God is in control. He is moulding
you to the person He wants you to be. Paul says “we
rejoice even in tribulations” because he knew that, “in
all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans
8:28).
Sometimes this may seem absurd. Only when you get the
right perspective of life and God's purpose for you, you
will be able to comprehend this. God is concerned about
your faith, your salvation and your eternal life more
than anything in this life. The priorities in God's
kingdom may seem upside down to worldly wisdom. When the
world says that one should be happy when he gets
possessions, God's kingdom says, it is better to give
than to receive. The world says you should be happy when
everything is fine, and sad and sorrowful when you are
in adversity. But Christians are commanded to rejoice
always no matter the circumstances. “Is it possible?”
You may ask. The answer is an emphatic “Yes.” If you are
not convinced just watch Apostle Paul and Silas in the
prison. They were beaten up. Hungry and cold, they were
put in a dark dungeon. Their feet in stocks, hands in
chains, not at all in any comfort, and their bodies were
aching and bleeding. Perhaps they were being infested by
rats, mosquitoes and f
leas. It could be the most appropriate time for
mourning, murmuring and complaining with tears and
indulging in a grand pity-party. But what a contrast!
They were rejoicing and singing and praising God! Their
joy and happiness was not dependent on the situation. It
is solely dependent on the person of Jesus. They
thoroughly cherished the whips and the chains because
they were suffering for Jesus' sake!
I am not denying the place of sorrow in our lives. In
our life in this world, we may have to go through
valleys of sickness, pain and death or terrible
conditions due to satanic oppression, or any reason. Of
course, we experience sorrow and pain during times of
bereavement of loved ones or great disasters. But I am
talking about our general attitude towards life. Sorrow
has a season. David says in Psalms 30:5, “... weeping
may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the
morning.” However dark the night may be, the morning
will come with sun shining brightly dispelling all the
darkness. The Psalmist also says, “You turned my wailing
into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me
with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be
silent.” (30:11-12). Yes, God is always ready to turn
our mourning into dancing, and comfort us during times
of sorrow and fill us with His joy and peace which is
beyond understanding.
The key to happiness and joy is that you love and
cherish your life (it is God's precious gift!) so much
that you don't want to lose it. So, you lose it for
Jesus' sake, and you will find it. As the martyred
American missionary Jim Eliot said, “He is no fool who
gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Cherish even your sufferings. Cherish whatever God gives
you in this life. Job asked his complaining wife, “Shall
we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10).
If you think that you are going through great sorrow or
tribulations, thank God that He has confidence in you
that you would be faithful to Him like Job.
By celebrating and cherishing the gift, you are
celebrating and cherishing the Giver. You may say that,
“brother you don't know what I am going through.” Yes I
agree. But God knows what you are going through. He has
exhorted you to cast your burdens on Him. He is ready to
cloth you with joy. Love your life. Be thankful to God
for everything in life. Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord
always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians
4:4). Murmuring, grudging, mourning and complaining are
the language of the devil, which result from unbelief
and fear and a lack of love for life. Thanksgiving and
rejoicing are the language of God resulting from faith
and confidence and love for life. God wants us to be
thankful in everything so that He can continue to bless
us and mould us to the persons He wants us to be. I have
given only a very few reasons to cherish and celebrate
your life. You can find a million more reasons. Keep the
search on. The celebration too!
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