“31 Sneaky Mood Busters: A whole month's worth of diet, fitness and mental tricks that help you get happy now!” claims an internet news story. It sounds as though “You can be happy all on your own. There’s nothing stopping you,” and that sounds great doesn’t it?
   No doubt, these tips can be beneficial in some ways, but will eating 3-5 servings of green-leafy vegetables a day make you happy when your child is laying on their death-bed suffering from cancer?
   The article says that exercise can positively manipulate your mood due to the chemistry of our body, and even more so by exercising with others. So should the sinful, guilt-stricken Jews of Acts 2:37 simply have gone for a walk together and then eaten a Caesar salad to make their problems go away?
    While paying attention to our diet and exercising are wise, even they have their limits. What is a person to do who is paralyzed from the neck down and who receives nourishment through a feeding tube? How can they be happy? Though their outward man perishes, their inward man can be renewed by exercising themselves unto godliness (1 Tim. 4:7-8). Also, they can exercise their senses in Scripture, thus benefitting themselves and those who will hear them (Heb. 5:14; 1 Tim. 4:16). And nothing can stop them from feeding on the words of eternal life (Jn. 6:68). Yes, they can rejoice in the Lord always! Do you?
   Another sadness-fighting option offered was “Laughing can give you an instant natural high, just like exercising.” Seems like I’ve heard something like that before… Ah yes, a 3,000 year old book informs us that “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
   If Solomon lived today, he could easily have earned a Ph.D in a variety of fields and been extremely successful. With his wisdom and insight, he could have hosted a successful talk show and been at the top of the Fortune 500s list of the wealthiest people. But about 3,000 years ago, Solomon did some writing of his own about happiness, and his writing added an element that is missing from the list of 31 tips to happiness referenced above---God.
   In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes Solomon wrote about how to nurture our body and soul. He shows that the happiest life possible can only come by faithfully serving God (Prov. 1:7; Eccl. 12:13). Without God, even regular exercise, a good diet, and positive-thinking will not provide solutions for sin, unexplainable and heart-wrenching tragedies, or the day of our death.
   The Bible teaches us how to deal with stress and anxiety: generally—seek first the kingdom of God and specifically—pray in faith (Matt. 6:19-34; Phil. 4:6-7). It may not work in anxiety tests on lab rats, but in those made in God’s image it is the only way to avoid eternal unhappiness.
   If happiness is what you genuinely seek, then take the advice of the One who created us. First, cleanse your soul from sin by faith in the blood of His Son Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5). Then in your new life and your constantly renewed mind you will be able to “rejoice always” (Col. 2:12; Rom. 12:2; Phil. 4:4).
 
--http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100248033&page=1 (story found on 11-24-09)