5 Ways to Have a Happy Heart

You know the right things that will make you physically healthy. Eat right, exercise, drink water, get rest. Simple. We know the right things to do, but do you always do them? Not usually. 

The apostle Paul gives us five, simple things to do for a happy heart. But simple does not always mean easy. These 5 things may be simple to understand, but they sure are a lot harder to do.

Here are 5 ways to a happy, healthy heart. 

1. I need to remember that God is with me, he’s in me and he’s for me.

No matter what you're facing, no matter what you’re going to face this next week, you’re not going to face it alone. God is with you, He is in you and He is for you.

Philippians 2:13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”  

2. I need to be grateful and never grumble.

We are as happy as we choose to be.

Philippians 2:14-15a “Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you.”  

That may be one of the most difficult verses in the Bible. Would you agree with that? Do everything without complaining or arguing so that nobody can criticize you. We are complainers. The Bible says if we want to be happy we’ve got to be grateful and never grumble.

3. I need to keep my conscience clear.

Because one of the things that causes us to lose our happiness is feeling guilty or feeling ashamed. The Bible says if you want to be happy you’ve got to get rid of guilt. You cannot be guilty and happy at the same time. 

Philippians 2:15 “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”  

At the beginning and at the end of every day do a spiritual inventory and say, “God, is there anything between me and you? I’m not going to bed tonight with junk. I had some garbage today that I picked up, from bad attitudes, from bad reactions, things I said, things I did and I’m not going to climb into bed tonight with this sack of garbage and get up in the morning and carry it off again. No! I’m going to deal with it.” 

We breathe out our sins in confession and we breathe in God’s power and cleansing.

4. I need to memorize God’s Word & live it.

Philippians 2:16 “Hold firmly to the Word of Life.”   

Usually we’re looking for happiness in all the wrong places. God says happiness is found in the path of God’s commands. The fourth exercise is to maintain a happy heart by memorizing God’s Word and then living it. 

5. I need to use my life to serve God by serving others.

If we're serious about happiness, we need to use our lives to serve God by serving others.

Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’.” 

When you’re polite to people, when you’re nice to people, when you’re friendly, when you’re helpful, when you serve others, God says, “it’s like serving me.”

Happiness comes from service. God wired the universe so that you are most happy when you are giving your life away. Why? Because he wants us to become like him.