The cheerful heart has a continual feast.
—Proverbs 15:15
Some people could sulk their way through Disneyland. They’re chronic complainers—gruff, grouchy, gloomy, souls that you’d walk across the street to avoid.
Then there are their opposites—delightful folks who are always cheerful, even when the going is rough.
It’s hard to be happy when you’re hurting. But happiness is not entirely at the mercy of cruel circumstances. Things were not going well for David when he wrote Psalm 34, but listen: “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips … let the afflicted hear and rejoice … Those who look to him are radiant …
You may be up to your chin in problems. But look at you; bless your heart, you’re smiling in spite of it.
It requires no special talent to be miserable.