Smile of joy

These things we write to you that your joy may be full. – 1 John 1:4

Remember those round, yellow, happy-face stickers that showed up frequently on stationery and postcards? They were often accompanied by the one-word message, "Smile". They implied that you can put a smile on your face as easily as you can put a hat on your head. In a sense, that is true. A good actor can look happy even when his heart is breaking.

Favorable circumstances can also produce smiles. A person with good health, an adequate income, and a nice house finds it easy to look happy. The best smile, though, comes naturally from within. It reflects a joy that remains even when a person has few of life’s material blessings. It comes from knowing God, believing and obeying His Word, being assured of sins forgiven, possessing eternal life, and anticipating the glories of heaven. The believer who depends on God for these blessings can smile despite adversity.

In today’s Scripture reading, the prophet Habakkuk declared trium-phantly, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:18). Even if everything were taken from him, the Lord would be his strength. He didn’t need to "put on" a smile, because the joy in his heart would do it for him. – Richard W. De Haan

A smile can conceal our pain

And lighten our despair,

But trust in God gives inner peace

And joy beyond compare. – Sper

READ: Habakkuk 3:17-19

Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus.

The Bible in one year:

• Proverbs 25-26

• 2 Corinthians 9