Three Simple Keys to Lasting Joy

Mark Twain once said the difference between the right word and the almost right word was the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. You know, if I'm out walking and I get hit by a lightning bug, that's no big deal. But if I get hit by lightning, that is a big deal. Today I'm going to talk about the difference between one word that'll make all the difference in your life as you move forward and learn to be a person full of joy.

Welcome to becoming wiser with Dr. Robert A. Rohm, author and world renowned public speaker, as he shares stories involving his experiences and lessons learned in a good spirited, positive and fun way. Here's Dr. Robert A. Rohm.

Hi, I'm Dr. Robert Rohm, and on this podcast I'm going to share with you a concept that someone taught me a long time ago that has helped me over and over and over again. And I want to go ahead and tell you what it is and then I'll back it up and share with you so you can see at the very beginning what I'm talking about. All of us from time to time are not happy. Something happens in our life that keeps us from being happy. Happiness is very closely related to our happenings. If things that happen are good, then we're happy. But if things that happen are not good, then we're not happy. Just remember that happiness is directly related to your happenings. And all of us want to be happy. But I promise you, from time to time, things aren't going to go your way. You're going to get the short end of the stick. You're going to get left out. So someone's going to say something to you that's unkind or hurtful. Sooner or later, you're not going to be happy. If you can understand that happiness is not the primary focus of life, everything is going to take a turn for the better. You see, there's a big difference between happiness and being full of joy. Joy is something that does not relate to our happenings. Joy is something that takes place inside of us because it's based on some things that we know. I'm going to share three of them with you and you'll begin to understand this. Feel free to take notes on this or listen to it over and over if you need to, because sooner or later, this is going to come your way. It's going to be in your life, it's going to be in your lane, it's going to be in your alley, and you'll be able to be a person full of joy, if you understand the difference between the right word and the almost right word. So the first thing is this. When life seems to fall apart, always remember God is still in control. There is never a human who lives that. Everything goes right for them all the time. Sometimes relationships fall apart. Sometimes we lose money, Sometimes we lose health. Sometimes friends let us down. Sooner or later, some things take place that cause us to feel like the life's falling apart. Friend, let me remind you of something. God is still in control. He doesn't check with me or you every day to see if things have gotten too bad and whether or not he's still able to run his universe. I graduated with a PhD in college so I could learn how to run a university. Learning a university is something that many people have learned how to do, and that's why they're the president of a particular college or university. Listen, it's small potatoes to run a university if you know how to run a universe. Think about that for a second. God runs the whole universe. He puts the stars, the moon, the sun in space and in place. He knows the ocean and where its tides come and go every day. He is in complete control and nothing ever is going to him to happen to him that he feels like, oh, he's gotten out of control. So what is joy? On this first point? Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life. Take a deep breath.

God is in control of all of the details of your life. That doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to like all of them or even agree with all of them. That doesn't really matter. What matters is this. If things go wrong, don't go with them. If your life seems to be falling apart, remember, God's not falling apart. He has everything under complete control. And you can have joy. Joy is not dependent on your happenings. Joy is not happiness. Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all, every last one, all of the details of your life. In my life, I've had things happen that didn't make me very happy. But I still had joy realizing that if there is a God, and I believe there is, he knows the number of hairs on your head. Jesus said he knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, he knows how to run a universe. And if things seem to be falling apart, why don't you just say to God? You know, God, sometimes it feels like everything in my life is falling apart. But I want you to know something. I believe you're still in control And I know that my happiness and my happenings are closely related. But I'm not going to look at what's happening to me right now. I. I'm going deeper. I'm going to have joy in my heart because I have the settled assurance that you are in complete control of the details of my life. I've had health issues. I've had relationship issues. I've had financial issues, just like you. We all have those things from time to time. Don't fall apart. Realize God's still running the show. And even though you may not understand everything, you may not even agree with everything, point number one is you do not have to worry because God is still in control. You can have joy. You can have the settled assurance in your heart that God is in control of all the details of your life. Nothing, absolutely nothing catches him off guard or is a surprise to him. God would never say to you, I'm so sorry about what happened. I was on my lunch break and when I came back, I found out everything in your life had fallen apart. That's just not going to happen. He knows what's going on. The Bible says the God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. There's never a time he has an off day or goes to sleep. He's God and He loves you. He and has everything in his universe under control. And you can be full of joy. So when things go wrong, you might not be happy, but just simply say to God. I say it often, God, I'm not real happy right now, but I do have joy because I have it settled in my heart. I have the assurance that you're in control of all of the details of my life. My health, my finances, my relationship. And I trust you. The second thing, when life seems hopeless, remember this. God is not finished yet. And he will work things out. Years ago, there were. There were. I went to a seminar. They gave us a little pin to wear and it had initials on it. It said P, B, P, G, I in F, W, M, Y. And that stood for. Everybody walked around with these little pins on and that the pin with those initials. Here's what the initials stood for. Please be patient. God is not finished with me yet. Isn't that great to know? Listen, if things are completely hopeless, just remember this. They're not. God's at work. You got to give him some time. The Bible says, without faith, it's impossible to please God. We are living in a day and age where we have to trust Him. We should want to trust him because he's the only one that's trustworthy. I don't trust politicians. I don't trust preachers. I don't trust anybody like I trust God. Human beings, sooner or later will let you down. Do you know if you cut the Bible right in half, the middle verse of the whole Bible, Psalms 118, verse 8. And it says, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put your confidence in man. I have a lot of friends who are preachers. I have a lot of friends who are politicians. Some of them are wonderful people. Don't put your final trust and hope in them. Remember this. If things seem hopeless, give God some time to work. God will work things out his own way in, in his own time. Joy. Here we go. Is the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right. Did you hear that, Joy? Is the quiet confidence God, things are. I'm right in the middle of a storm. I'm right in the middle of a mess. Ultimately, everything is going to be all right. I do not make light of the fact that our friends in Florida and North Carolina have gone through some tremendous challenges. They've lost their homes. Many of them have lost a lifetime of work or possessions. And. And that's sad. But in light of eternity, in light of billions and billions of years from now, remember this. God knows how to work things out. I've lost everything I own twice. And it was through losing every. First time I lost it because I was dumb. Second time I lost it because I was arrogant. Do you know what happened? God taught me great lessons through making dumb mistakes and being arrogant. Now I have the quiet confidence that everything in my life is going to be okay. That's what life is, a great teacher. And when you start worrying and think, oh, brother, this is hopeless. I don't know what's going to happen. Remember this. God's at work. He's not wringing his hands. He's not biting his fingernails. He's not saying, oh, I wish I could get in on this situation. God is not going to do something in your life. He is doing something in your life right this very moment. Remember that, Joy is the quiet confidence that ultimately everything's going to be okay. Sooner or later you're going to realize, you know what? I'm worried a lot for nothing. Everything's okay. It all worked out okay. And all the stuff that I lost, it wasn't that great of a loss anyway. I'm not making light of it. I'm just letting you know, in time, there will get to be a new Normal, and everything's going to be okay. The third and final thing. You know, sometimes we cannot see that God is in a situation, but he is. And therefore he is worthy of your praise. This is a tough one. Job said years ago, even if he kills me, I will trust in Him. Job understood the concept that even when I can't see God's hand at work, I know he is still worthy of my praise. Someone once wisely said, when we can't trace his hand, we can trust his heart. God is worthy of your praise and my praise. Don't be afraid. I have practiced this. Practice praising God. Practice thanking him even when you don't want to. If you lose some money, if your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you, if someone walks out on you, God, this is hard. My heart's broken. When you get a bad report regarding your health, God, I didn't see that coming. But I want you to know something. I still praise you. I praise you that you're God and I'm not. See, if you were God and I was talking to you and I said, you know what? I don't know what's going on in my situation right now, but I want to let you know. I thank you. I praise you because my eyes are upon you. They're not on my happenings. Because my happenings relate to my happiness. My eyes are on you. That's why I'm full of joy. In your right hand are joys or pleasures forevermore. That's where joy is. Here's the third point. Joy is the determined choice to praise God in all things. Notice what I said? It's the determined choice. It is a choice. It has nothing to do with how I feel. It has everything to do with knowing I can trust God's heart. I can't trace his hand. And I don't know what's going on right now. But I am making a choice. I. I am determined that I will praise him and thank Him. This is not smoke, mirrors and glass. This is reality. When I lost all of my money twice, slowly but surely, I woke up and said, God, thank you. Thank you. I know you're teaching me something. I know you're guiding me and helping me. And I will give you time to work. And I make the choice to look to you. I'm not going to be bitter. I'm not going to be upset. That's not even good for my health. I'm going to look to you knowing full well that sooner or later this is going to be something I can look back on and maybe even laugh about. So I'm making the determined choice with my mind that I want to have joy. And the only way I can have joy is to make the determined choice that I choose to praise you. Even though I may not like what's going on, I may not agree with it, but I'm not God. And you have a bigger plan. You know, folks, someone once wisely said, if we could sit in God's lap, and he looked down at earth and looked at us with us in his lap and said, now let me explain to you everything that's going right now in your family or in your health or in your finances or even in your world and politics. Everything. You would look at God and you would say, thank you. Now everything makes sense. Well, God doesn't have to explain everything to us, but he's still in charge. So remember those three things. Remember, if you want to have joy, it's the settled assurance that God is in control of all of the details of your life. Next, joy is the quiet confidence that ultimately everything's going to be all right. And finally, joy is the determined choice that you make to praise him in all things. So this week's podcast. Remember, there's a huge difference between happiness and joy. I don't really even focus on my happiness, and I'm not really concerned whether or not I'm happy. But boy, oh, boy, am I full of joy. And you know what's crazy? The more joyful I become, the more joyful I remain, the more joyful I stay focused on looking to God, giving him time to work, and trusting in Him. Are you ready for this? The happier I become, you're going to experience that same thing if you'll just give God some time to work and you look at him with an attitude of gratitude. Be full of joy and you will have a great life. I'm Dr. Robert Rome. I hope that this podcast has been helpful, and I hope you're full of joy today and you'll let the joy of the Lord sustain you, regardless of what comes your way. Thanks so much. I look forward to talking to you on another podcast real soon.

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