Long before William James, the Father of American psychology, was attributed with saying, ‘The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes,’ God said, ‘As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he’ (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). Often it’s our thoughts, not our circumstances, that determine our happiness. We keep thinking we will be happy when certain things happen. For example, a parent might say, ‘When little Tommy starts primary school, I will be happy.’ And they are, for a while. Next, ‘When Tommy leaves secondary school, I will be happy.’ And they are, at least for the summer. Next, Tommy’s graduation from university brings the same promise; so does his marriage, and the birth of the first grandchild. But the problem is, the parent hasn’t learned how to be happy between ‘happenings’. When your happiness is controlled by something outside yourself, you will always be hostage to people, places, and things. That’s not how God wants you to live – a victim of circumstances beyond your control. The psalmist said, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth’ (Psalm 34:1 KJV). David chose the right attitude, and you have to do the same! You also must maintain it. That’s the hard part. It’s like the old farmer who said, ‘The hardest thing about milking cows is – they don’t stay milked!’ And it’s the same with attitudes; they don’t stay changed. You have to work on them every day; it’s called ‘renewing…your mind’. And the way you do it is by getting into God’s Word and getting His Word into you. Are you doing that regularly?
