This Week's Light Service Sermon

Light Service Sermons for the Month
The Pursuit of Happiness
Finding Happiness in the Tough Times of Life
DATE: March 28, 1999
TEXT: Philippians 4:10-13

In 1971 Mitchell was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident. He was horribly burned and left fingerless. Four years later tragedy stuck again when he was paralyzed as a result of a small plane crash. The accident also disfigured him. From any point of view, Mitchell had every reason to give up on life and become a bitter, lonely person. But instead, amazingly, Mitchell chose happiness. He made the decision to see those two terrible accidents not as setbacks, but as starting points. And as a result, today he is a successful investor, and environmental activist, and a speaker who encourages others to keep on going in spite of the misfortunes of life.
It's a remarkable story. But according to happiness researchers, it's not all that unique. For happiness researchers have discovered that we humans have been created with the extraordinary ability to bounce back or to adapt to changed circumstances. They've learned that even in the midst of extremely challenging situations, we can still choose happiness.
For example, in a Michigan study on car accident victims it was discovered that three weeks after suffering a paralyzing spinal cord injury happiness was once again the prevailing emotion in their lives. In fact, compared with people who had not suffered such a tragedy, these accident victims were on average just as happy.
In another study of breast cancer victims two UCLA psychologists found that often, cancer victims discover a new joy for life. Their illness forces them to re-evaluate what's important. And in the process, each day becomes more enjoyable.
That's not to belittle the tragedy of cancer or car accidents or other kinds of trauma. But what the research tells us is that we can choose how we will respond to the circumstances around us. We can either choose happiness or anger and bitterness.
Today as we wrap up our series on happiness, we're going to look at some of the ingredients necessary for finding happiness in the tough times of life. You see it's one thing to be happy when things are going well, but is it really possible to experience a deep feeling of well being when things aren't going our way? Is it possible, or even realistic, to believe that we can still experience happiness when a loved one dies, or when a relationship falls apart, or when we lose our job? God has some great news for us when it comes to that question, but before we see what he has to say, let's pray together
Dear Jesus. We often picture you as never smiling, always serious, intently driven. But you had your moments too at the party for that wedding couple, when you needled the devil, raised Lazarus from death, thanked Mary for that soothing ointment. You were a happy man. God bless you. AMEN
When talking about happiness, particularly in the context of life's setbacks, it's important to understand that happiness is not first and foremost an emotion. Certainly happiness often produces in us an upbeat feeling and is often expressed through laughter or a smile. But happiness can also produce emotions that almost feel like sadness. Feelings of relief when bad news becomes good news or being deeply moved by a touching scene in a movie may bring tears and a more contemplative expression to our face. But while the emotion feels different than upbeat giddiness, its source is still happiness.
You see, happiness, while it expresses itself in various emotional moods, is first and foremost a belief. It's the deep-seated belief in the fundamental goodness of life. It's the belief that life, at its core, is good. And while circumstances will come along that may rock that belief, it is ultimately that belief in the goodness of life that keeps us going, and that keeps us content even in tough times.
With that in mind, I'd like to take a few moments to look with you at 5 God-inspired happiness producing ingredients--five ingredients that can build in us a sense of happiness, a sense that life, at its core, is good, even when things aren't going our way. And to help you remember these ingredients, each one of them is based on a letter from the word happy.
1) The first happiness-producing ingredient, represented by the letter H is hope.
Hope is the fundamental belief that God, not our circumstances, will have the final word, that God will somehow, in someway, get us through.
Back in 586 BC, the nation of Israel was completely destroyed by the Babylonians. The resulting poverty and devastation were overwhelming. A man by the name of Jeremiah wrote his reflections on the aftermath of the invasion in a book in the Bible called Lamentations. In the book he pours out his heart to God as he laments the destruction of his homeland. In vivid detail he captures the pain and suffering of his people. But near the end of this book, after several chapters of heartfelt sorrow, his tone changes. Almost out of the blue he says, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope--because of the Lord's great love we will not be consumed." Hope, the fundamental belief that God wold have the final word, enabled Jeremiah and his people to move through their grief to a new beginning.
In 1977 Cleveland Indian's star Andre Thorton was driving his wife and two children to his wife's sister's wedding. While winding their way through the mountains of Pennsylvania, a strong wind caught the back of their van causing it to spin and roll over. The next thing he knew, Andre was in a hospital bed lying next to his son. With tears in her eyes the nurse told him that his wife and daughter had been killed in the accident.
Talking about that experience later on, Andre said, "It was a gut-wrenching time. I felt as though the insides of my body were being torn out. But even at that moment, we can count on the Lord's word. For Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hope, the fundamental belief that God is with us in life's tough times, enabled Andre to face his tragedy and move on with life. And God, through Jesus Christ, offers us that same happiness producing hope each and every day.
2) The second happiness-producing ingredient, represented by the letter A is attitude.
A friendly waitress was trying her best to get a smile out of one of her customers. The customer seemed depressed and unhappy, and scowled every time the waitress cam near. As the customer paid her bill the waitress said, "Have a nice day!" To which the woman replied, "I'm sorry, but I've made other plans."
God has created each one of us with the remarkable ability to choose how we will respond to life's circumstances. We can either choose happiness or bitterness.
Our Bible writer for today tells us that he learned the secret to being content with all circumstances--and that secret was to plug into the strength of Jesus Christ. Because God was always with him, filling him with love, joy, and strength, he could choose happiness over bitterness.
Victor Frankl, who spent years in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, wrote of how day after day the Nazi's tried to dehumanize the prisoners and rob them of their dignity. Yet, Frankl says, there were prisoners who walked through the camp comforting others and sharing their food with those too weak to get up and get their own. He said that those prisoners were the proof of a significant truth--that everything can be taken from us but one thing: the freedom to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances. Because Jesus promises to walk with us each day loving us and strengthening us, we can choose to believe in life's goodness, even when it doesn't seem so good at the time.
3) A third happiness producing ingredient, represented by the first P in the word happy, is prayer.
A firefighter was telling a kindergarten class what to do in case of a fire. He said, "First, go to the door and feel the door to see it it's hot. Then, fall to your knees. Does anyone know why you ought to fall to your knees?"
One little boy raised his hand and said, "Sure, to start praying and to ask God to get us out of this mess!"
Prayer is God's gift to us that enables us to cry out to him in the tough times of life and ask him to get us out of the mess. It's his gift that enables us to give him the problem, the hurt, the grief, the disappointment, that we might receive from him healing, encouragement, strength, love, and hope. Prayer allows us to release our setbacks to God that he might respond and help us. It reminds us that we're not alone, that God is a whisper, a tear, or heart-felt cry away.
4) The fourth happiness-producing ingredient in life's tough times is praise.
Where prayer focuses on our need for God's help, praise focuses on God's power, presence, and compassion. When we praise God for who he is, when we thank him for his love and help, we find our spirits lifted as we're reminded of just how awesome God is. Praise reminds us that God, not our circumstances, will have the final word.
There was a time in George Fredric Handel's life when he had reached the bottom. His right side had become paralyzed and he was broke. His creditors threatened him with prison. He was so upset that he even considered suicide. But instead, he chose to praise God--to focus on God's goodness rather than on his own circumstances. And out of that moment came one of the greatest pieces of praise every written--Handel's Messiah and the Hallelujah Chorus.
Praise busts through the tough times of life by reminding us that God is good, and that because God is good, life at its core, it still good, even though for awhile, it may seem pretty bad.
5) The final happiness producing ingredient, represented by the letter Y in happy, is yield.
As we've talked about for the last several weeks, happiness ultimately comes through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We experience it when we yield or surrender our lives to Jesus that we might walk with him, encourage us and strengthen us. For as we live with Jesus he continually reminds us that God is with us, that God loves us that God is by our side. Jesus fills us with hope, he gives us a happy-oriented attitude, he listens to our prayers, and he inspires praise in us. He is the one who keeps us happy, even when life hurts.
This week we enter the holiest week of the church year for a Christian. This morning, in a few moments we will be blessing the palms with our brothers and sisters of St. Hilary. If you can stay for the blessing, please do so before leaving for home. Later on this week after we celebrate once again with Jesus his Last Supper on Thursday, we remember his crucifixion this year at Fairlawn Lutheran near Summit Mall. The message of the week is that weeping may linger for awhile but joy always comes in the morning--Easter morning. Life, at its core is beautiful, because God is good. This week you can experience his goodness by yielding your life to Jesus, dying with him, then rising with a new source of true and lasting happiness. God bless you.
AMEN