Proverbs 17:22 says: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” Do you think God is joking? It is a medicine that is not chemical. There are no chemicals. It is a medicine that has no side effects. “This will cause blurry vision and dry lips and” “your head to turn around sometimes.
” It’s medicine! Literally “medicine” is there. A merry heart, and the word “merry” is “sameach”, a heart that is “sameach”, “celebrating, rejoicing, happy heart.” “Now, I just don’t like this idea of being happy for no reason.” Your reason for “sameach”, your reason for joy is not scriptural. If you are waiting for things to happen, happenings that happen to happen the way it’s supposed to happen, then you are happy, you will never be happy.
Because happenings don’t happen to happen the way you want it to happen, okay? So you will never be happy all the time. But if it’s independent of happenings, it’s a joy from within, the Bible says it like this. You know, Paul wrote from his prison cell the most joyful letter. You can ask any scholar, alright? Bible scholar who knows their New Testament and you can ask them: “What is the most joyful letter of Paul?” They will tell you: “Philippians.
” The word “joy” appears more than any other book that he wrote. And yet, where was he writing from? Prison. And he wrote this: “Rejoice in the Lord,” and again I say: ‘Rejoice!’” Rejoice. “Do you know why this happened to me?” “For the furtherance of your joy.” “Hey guys, rejoice.” And then he wrote again. “Rejoice in the Lord and again I say: ‘Rejoice!’” Then he says this.
I am paraphrasing this, let me quote to you first what he says. “For me to write again these words to you” “is not grievous for me. But for you, it is safe.” How do you rejoice? He kept on repeating so much that he must apologize a bit. “I know guys, it’s not burdensome for me” “to keep on repeating this but for you it is safe.
” “Rejoice in the Lord and again…” Rejoice where? In your happenings? No! In the Lord. In the Lord. In your good Shepherd. Even when things go wrong, rejoice in Him. Keep a merry heart. I tell you this, when you are flowing with the Lord, the Lord wants you to be happy. He looks at you and says, on the night He was betrayed, knowing as He was betrayed, Judas just left, knowing that as He was being betrayed, He was saying this: “These things I have spoken unto you” “that My joy might remain in you and that your joy may be full.”
Imagine! He was being betrayed even as He spoke those words. “Hey guys, I have spoken these things to you.” “My joy, the joy that You see me operating in, might remain in you.” And by the way, the word “joy” is from the word “chara.” from the Greek. “Chara” is the noun. “Kairo” is the verb of “chara”. Notice, “chara” comes from? “Charis.
