Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Pastor Rick Warren: Hello everybody, thank you so much for joining us here on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren. Today we are continuing in this timely series called Strategies for Stressful Times. In this series, Pastor Rick shares timeless truths from God's word that will help you manage stress, overcome worry, and experience the peace and stability that only God can provide. All right, let's get right to the message. Here is the first part called How to Be Happy No Matter What Happens.

Today, if you grab your Bible and download the message notes, I want us to look at what God's Word teaches us about how to be happy no matter what happens. How to be happy no matter what happens. Now, this is a skill that we all need to learn during difficult days.

Now, anytime you want to study what God has to say about happiness, you go to the book of Philippians here in the Bible. It's the most positive, happy book in God's Word, in spite of the fact that Paul wrote it while he was a prisoner in a dark Roman prison dungeon, and he was chained to a 24-hour guard. But Paul knew how to be happy no matter what happens.

Now, one of the key verses is Philippians 1, chapter 1, verse 27. It's at the top of the message outline. Philippians 1:27 says this, "Whatever happens, whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the good news of Christ."

Have you ever held a pity party for yourself? It's quite easy to throw a pity party. All you have to do is think up a list of everything negative in your life, and then think about it over and over and over, and then feel sorry for yourself.

Last Tuesday, I gave myself a pity party. It was a good one. First, I thought of the chronic pain that I had been feeling for three weeks. It was sapping all my energy. Then next, I thought of all the things that I was not getting done and the pressure that I felt from those deadlines because I had not been feeling good. So I had pain and pressure. Then I thought of the people who needed my help, and I thought of some other people who were upset with me.

And finally, in case that was not enough, I thought of all the problems in the world that we just keep hearing about. So you got pain, pressure, people, and problems. These are the four most common sources of unhappiness. They are what I call the killjoys, the common killjoys of life. And I know you are very familiar with them too.

Now, today we are going to see how Paul handled all four of these killjoys in the first chapter of Philippians. Anyway, I started holding this pity party for myself, and at one point, I actually thought the words, "You know, I don't like any of this. And I am really, really not happy right now."

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe this week too. Well, you know what, I try to live each moment in my life in constant conversation with God throughout my day. The Bible says to pray continually, pray without ceasing, and that means keep a running, ongoing conversation with God in your head. So as soon as I thought the idea, I am not happy right now, I also heard this little question in my mind from the Holy Spirit that said, "Do you want to stay unhappy? Do you want to stay unhappy?" And I immediately answered, "No, no, I don't want to stay unhappy."

You see, friends, God says that happiness is a choice. It's not based on circumstances, it's based on choices. You must choose happiness. Now, happiness is not something you look for. That's what many people mistake. It's not something you look for. If you look for it, you're not going to find it. Happiness is something you create. Happiness is something you choose. The truth is, regardless of your circumstances, no matter what's going on in your life right now, no matter what's happening in your life, you are as happy as you choose to be.

You are as happy as you choose to be. You can't blame anybody else for your unhappiness. And regardless of the pain, regardless of pressure, regardless of other people, and regardless of problems in your life, you are as happy as you choose to be.

One of the most common mistakes we make in life is what I call when and then thinking. When I get this, then I will be happy. When something happens the way I want it to happen, then I will be happy. When I get out of school, then I will be happy. When I get a man in my life or a woman, then I will be happy. When I get a job or a promotion, when I retire, you could fill it in with a million things. When and then thinking. In Paul's case, it could have been, when I get out of prison, then I will be happy.

But the truth is this, if you don't know how to choose happiness right now in spite of your circumstances, there's going to be pains and pressures and people and problems to blame for your unhappiness for the rest of your life. And you are never really going to be happy long-term.

Now, let me explain the background of today's text, which is Philippians chapter 1. In the previous four years of Paul's life before he wrote this chapter we are going to look at today, in that last four years, Paul had spent two years in jail in Caesarea on false charges, false charges, two years in jail. Then, he was shipwrecked while he was sailing to Rome for another trial under Nero, who was the Caesar at that time. Then, in that shipwreck, he was stranded on a desert island for a while and actually got bitten by a poisonous snake.

And then, when he finally got to Rome, he was imprisoned again in Rome for two years in a deep, dank, dark dungeon with a 24-hour guard chained to him. Paul had every reason to be unhappy. Every reason to be bitter. Every reason to be resentful or fearful or depressed. He had the right to hold a pity party. But instead, in that dark, dank prison, Paul wrote the most positive book in the Bible, Philippians.

Now, in Philippians chapter 1, verses 12 to 30, Paul, who is writing from prison, models four principles for being happy no matter what happens in your life. This is a very practical message. I hope you take notes on this. I want you to see the four choices that Paul made, so you can make these same choices too.

Again, you are as happy as you choose to be. All right? So here are the four principles, the four choices. First, I can be happy no matter what happens in my life if I choose to, write this down, remember, God can bring good out of anything. That's the first choice. I choose to remember that God can bring good out of anything. Now, of course, Romans 8:28, that famous verse of scripture in the Bible says this, "We know," not we guess, "We know that in all that happens," all that happens, that's the good, the bad, and the ugly. "We know that in all in all that happens, God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."

Now, that verse does not say all things that happen are good, because they are not. There's a lot of bad, there's a lot of evil in the world. But it says, "In all things that happen, God works for the good." God works for the good. The good is not what happens. The good is what God does with even the bad in our lives. God can bring good out of bad. Now, we get frustrated and we get unhappy when we don't see what God sees.

When we don't have His perspective. The truth is, God is working out a plan for your life, and even when all the circumstances, the people, and the pressures, and the problems, and the pain are not good, God is still working for good in your life. Now, knowing this truth is, for instance, why King David years earlier was able to say in Psalm 34, verse 1, "I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I'll praise the Lord no matter what happens." Can you say that?

You see, circle the word 'will'. "I will." Will means a decision. Will means a choice. Will means you had an option. It's not it's I can decide. It's a decision. "I will praise the Lord no matter what happens." David made a choice. It was a decision.

Now, how do you do that? How do you consistently make that decision to praise God even in bad circumstances? By learning to look at everything from God's perspective, not your own. Let me say that again. The way you make this first choice is by learning to look at everything in your life from God's viewpoint, God's perspective, not my own. It's a life skill you're going to have to learn if you want to be happy no matter what happens in your life.

Now listen closely. You must choose to look at every situation in your life from God's viewpoint. That's called wisdom. Happy people have a larger perspective. Happy people see a bigger picture. They look past the pain, the people, the problems, and the pressure. And they see a bigger picture. What is the bigger picture? Romans 8:28, that we know that no matter what happens, God is working for good in our lives.

Let me show you Paul's example of this principle. It's verse 12 of Philippians chapter 1. Paul says this, "I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything," circle that word 'everything', all what had happened in the past four years that I told you about. "Everything that has happened to me has helped to spread the good news." That's a whole different perspective. Rather than a pity party, say, God is using this for good.

Let me explain. You see, Paul had dreamed for many, many years of sharing Christ in the center of the empire. At that time, Rome was the empire. It was the Roman Empire. And I'm sure his idea was, "Let's go to Rome, rent the Colosseum, have a harvest crusade every night with Paul preaching." That was his idea of taking the message and getting it spread all through the Roman Empire. God's idea was to make him a royal prisoner of Nero.

Nero was the emperor at that time. Now, as a royal prisoner, he had an opportunity to share Christ with many key people that even other prisoners would not wouldn't be able to do. He's chained, he's not only in a Roman prison, he's chained 24 hours a day to a palace guard. What's a palace guard? They were the elite, handpicked, security agents of Caesar.

And they guarded prisoners in four-hour shifts. Now, follow me on the math of this. Paul was in prison in Rome for over two years. He's chained to an elite, handpicked, crack agent guard every four hours. That means over two years, there would be 4,380 different guards who would be attached to him.

What's going on here? He's dealing with people of influence, and he's got a captive audience, no pun intended. You know, when I think about this, he's chained to these guards, nearly 5,000 or four over 4,000 guards, who's the real prisoner here? You're chained to Paul, and he and you you are a captive audience, and he talks to every one of these guys about the Lord.

The Bible tells us that there were two results of this. In chapter 4 of Philippians, it tells us that some of Nero's own family had come to Christ. Did you know that? Some of Nero's own family had become Christians because Paul is witnessing to the prison or the royal guards. You might call that a chain reaction because he's chained to these guards.

Paul is, that's the first benefit. Second benefit is this, instead of Paul going out and preaching in the Colosseum, Paul was forced to sit still in his prison cell. And you know what he did during all that two years? He wrote the New Testament. Over half the New Testament are letters of Paul to different churches, including this one to the people in Philippi.

And so, he's writing the New Testament, and the expenses are paid by Nero. Now, write this down. Face every situation with faith, not fear. If I want to be happy, I must face every situation, whether it's people, pain, problems, or pressures. Face every situation with faith, not fear. Get the bigger perspective.

Learn to see your problems, your pains, your pressures, the people in your life, from God's point of view, not just your own. Now, before we go to the second principle, I want to practice this first one. So, I want you to bow your head right now, okay? If you can pull over to the side of the road if you're driving, don't bow your head while you're driving. Pull over to the side of the road. And here's the first thing I want you to do. Think of a situation that you're facing right now that is either scaring you or it's causing you unhappiness. Think of a situation in your life that's either scaring you or it's causing unhappiness.

Now, I want you to say this in a prayer to God. Say, "God," just say that, "God, help me, help me to see this from your perspective. Help me to see this from your perspective, this situation. Help me to face this problem with faith, not fear." Amen. Amen.

Now, what you just did is the first step to perpetual happiness. Anytime, by the way, you face a situation in faith rather than in fear, and you trust that God knows what he's doing and you and you remember that he's working out his plan, two things happen when you face your problems with faith, not fear. First, it's a witness to unbelievers. Every time you have faith instead of fear.

Verse 13, Philippians chapter 1, says this, Paul says, "For everybody here," he's talking about in the prison, "Everyone here, including all the soldiers in the palace guard, knows that I'm in chains because of Christ." Okay? So, it's a witness to unbelievers when you act in faith toward your problems rather than in fear. It's a witness to unbelievers. It's also, number two, an encouragement to other believers. It's an encouragement to believers. Verse 14, he says this, "And, by the way, because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here, the believers here, have gained confidence.

They've become bolder, and they've become more bold in telling others about Christ." Anytime you react to the pain, pressures, problems, or people in your life from God's perspective than your own, it's going to be a witness to unbelievers and it's going to be an encouragement to believers.

You know, when our youngest child, Matthew, died and took his life during a period of great mental illness, Kay and I noticed that both of these things happened with us. Because we saw God's perspective, and we faced this horrible crisis in our lives with faith, not fear. And as a result, we were able to witness to millions of unbelievers. For instance, being on the cover of People Magazine and doing a one-hour interview on CNN and a lot of other things, we were able to witness to millions of unbelievers, and we were able to encourage and even still today encouraging many believers who are struggling with mental health issues in their family or personally or thoughts of suicide.

So, the first thing I do, if I want to always be happy, regardless of the circumstances, how to be happy in spite of whatever happens, I remember that God can bring good out of bad. Here's the second thing. I can be happy no matter what happens in my life if I choose to do this, number two. Never let others control my attitude. Never let others, either by their words or by their actions, control my attitude. They can't control you unless you allow them to control you by their words or by their actions.

Now, while Paul was in prison, there were people who criticized his ministry. While he's down, they're kicking him while he's down. They slandered Paul, they judged Paul, they criticized his ministry. There were those who were his friends who supported his ministry. They were companions and friends. There were those who competed with his ministry while he's in prison, taking advantage that he's out out of circulation. And there were those who undermined his ministry. They actually attacked him and tried to destroy him while he was in prison.

And in Philippians chapter 1, the next couple of verses, verses 15, 16, and 17, Paul describes four kinds of people. Three of these four kinds of people are killjoys. And guess what? You're going to have all four of these, hopefully, in your life. Hopefully you're going to have companions. But there are critics, there are companions, there are competitors, and there are challengers. You're going to have all four of these in your life, and if you don't know how to deal with them, you're not going to be happy much of your life.

First, in verse 15, Paul had critics. And he says this, "It's true that some people preach Christ because they're jealous of us and they like to argue." They're jealous of us, and they like to argue. The word there 'eris' in Greek means they love to argue, they love conflict, they enjoy creating controversy. These people hang out on social media. They're contentious, they're divisive, they're critical, they love conflict. They they love to bait people into into controversy. They're on social media all the time.

Ever heard a preacher on the radio or the television like that? He baits everybody by being provocative and and being critical of somebody else? Ever read a blogger or somebody in social media like that? Notice that Paul says that critics' motives are often jealousy. And and they want to have the influence you've got, and so they start trying to tear you down.

Now, there are few things in life that cause you to lose your happiness faster than criticism. I mean, we all want people to like us. Okay? But here is an important principle you need to remember if you're going to be happy in life. You don't need other people's approval or permission to be happy. You don't need other people's approval to be happy, you don't need other people's permission to be happy. Happiness is a choice. You're as happy as you choose to be.

So, he deals with critics in verse 15. Then in 16, he talks about his companions. Now, these are the good people. You want these people in your life. He says, "Other people preach from genuine good will, and they do so out of love, and they know that God has given me the work of defending the gospel." You want to have some friends in your life. You don't need a lot, but you need a couple of really good friends. That's why we always talk about being in a small group. If you're not in a small group, you need to get in a small group. You need a group of companions who will help you through the tough times in your life.

The small group I'm in right now, I've been in, I think, over 20 years. And it has just helped me many times. They are a source of encouragement and happiness for me. In the next verse, Paul says, "You know, you're going to have competitors in life." And he says this, "Other people preach Christ insincerely from a spirit of selfish ambition." He says, "There're going to be people in your life, you're going to have competitors, people who want to compete with you. They're ego-driven, and one of the things they do, you can tell them that they're competitive, is they put down others in an attempt to make themselves look good."

Now, let me just say this, whether you're a business person or you're a teenager or you're a homemaker, whatever, competitors who are trying look like they're trying to compete with you over what your house looks like or what your job is or who's your best friend at school, competitors will rob your happiness if you let them. But you can't. Happiness is