Happiness is an emotion that is short-lived and can be reversed by the first signs of trouble. Joy is not an emotion, it is a spiritual force that you live with, day in and day out. Your ministry of cheerfulness doesn’t shut down just because tribulation comes. God-given joy stands throughout every attack of the enemy.
Cheerfulnesss is fixed and permanent. While in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: neverthelesss not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36).
Problems and difficulty did not change Jesus, because He knew that He came into the world to defeat death for all mankind on the cross.
Cheerfulness comes from knowing the Good News. When the devil throws his fiery darts of gloom, you have a shield of faith against depression. Get your shield up! Happiness also can be produced by helping others.
Considering your neighbor over yourself is the ladder out of misery and unhappiness. By helping others, you have the opportunity to see yourself in a different perspective. Meeting someone else’s need requires you to break from self-consumption.
A few years ago, I was scheduled to minister in a rather large church. It was my first time there, and I was waiting with the pastor in his office before the evening service began.
He kept huffing and puffing, sneaking out to see how the church was filling up, getting more and more irritated as the service time drew closer.
I finally asked him what the problem was, and after telling me that the church was only half full, he exclaimed, “I just couldn’t preach to this crowd! It’s too small!”
I was shocked by his attitude, and I wondered how he ever managed to make the church grow to this size. I said, “You know what your problem is?
You came to have the people meet your need, but you should have come to help meet their need. If you’ll do that, it won’t matter if two people show up or two million.”
You see, that pastor’s priorities had gotten out of line. His cheerfulness had been robbed because he’d become totally consumed with himself. His main focus was not on the people or their needs, but on himself.
Just as Jesus does with us, He expects us to prefer others over ourselves. As you spend time developing an intimate relationship with Him, preferring others will become your heartbeat. Love for others will overtake you and a powerful ministry of cheerfulness will begin to grow within you!
As you daily run the race set before you, Jesus will ignite a holy fire in you that will fill you with joy overflowing! There’s nothing like living for Him!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”
