May 21:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

Life's Greatest Joy.
"There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people, not diminish them; I will honor them, not despise them."--Jeremiah 30:19, NLT

MANY PROFESSED CHRISTIANS do not correctly represent the Christian religion.  They appear gloomy, as if under a cloud.  They often speak of the great sacrifices they have made to become Christians.  They appeal to those who have not accepted Christ, representing by their own example and conversation that they must give up everything which would make life pleasant and joyful.  They throw a pall of darkness over the blessed Christian hope.  The impression is given that God's requirements are a burden even to the willing soul, and that everything that would give pleasure, or that would delight the taste, must be sacrificed.--Messages to Young People, 363.

Obedience to our Saviour does not detract from our happiness and true pleasure in this life.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, 374.

Whatever Christ asks us to renounce, He offers in its stead something better....When once the gaze is fixed upon Him, the life finds its center....Duty becomes a delight and sacrifice a pleasure.  To honor Christ, to become like Him, to work for Him, is the life's highest ambition and its greatest joy.--Education, 296.

                      Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
                                                                                            --Romans 12:12, NRSV

May 20:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

Christian Grace.
So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun.--Ecclesiastes 8:15, NRSV

SOME PRESERVE a cold, chilling reserve, an iron dignity, that repels those who are brought within their influence.  This spirit is contagious; it creates an atmosphere that is withering to good impulses; it chokes the natural current of human sympathy, cordiality, and love; and under its influence people become constrained, and their social and generous attributes are destroyed for want of exercise.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 63.

You have a duty to perform, which is to make yourself cheerful, and to cultivate unselfishness in your feelings until it will be your greatest pleasure to make all around you happy....You need to soften your hearts and be imbued with the Spirit of Christ, that you may, while living in an atmosphere of cheerfulness and benevolence, help those about you to be healthy and happy also.  You have imagined that cheerfulness was not in accordance with the religion of Christ.  This is a mistake.  We may have true Christian dignity and at the same time be cheerful and pleasant in our deportment.  Cheerfulness without levity is one of the Christian graces.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 61, 62.

                   Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
                               for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
                                                                                         --1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NRSV     

May 19:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

The Lord Helps and Heals.
A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.--Proverbs 17:22, NLT

THE RELATION THAT EXISTS between the mind and the body is very intimate.  When one is affected, the other sympathizes.  The condition of the mind affects the health to a far greater degree than many realize.  Many of the diseases from which men suffer are the results of mental depression.  Grief, anxiety, discontent, remorse, guilt, distrust, all tend to break down the life forces and to invite decay and death....

Courage, hope, faith, sympathy, love, promote health  and prolong life.  A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul.  "A merry [rejoicing] heart doeth good like medicine."  Proverbs 17:22,--The Ministry of Healing, 241.

Christ is the wellspring of life.  That which many need is to have a clearer knowledge of Him; they need to be patiently and kindly, yet earnestly, taught how the whole being may be thrown open to the healing agencies of heaven.  When the sunlight of God's love illuminates the darkened chambers of the soul, restless weariness and dissatisfaction will cease, and satisfying joys will give vigor to the mind and health and energy to the body.--The Ministry of Healing, 247.

                                           Being cheerful keeps you healthy.
                                    It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.
                                                                                            --Proverbs 17:22, GNT

May 18:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

A Merry Heart Has a Feast From God Each Day.
All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.--Proverbs 15:15, NKJV

WE MAY HAVE a feast of good things every day, for God can open the whole treasure of heaven to us.--Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,119.

No human agent can supply that which will satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul.  But Jesus says,..."I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst."  John 6:35.--Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 18.

What food is to the body, Christ must be to the soul.  Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our being.  So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know Him as a personal Saviour.  A theoretical knowledge will do us no good.  We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life.  His love, His grace, must be assimilated.--The Desire of Ages, 389.

Let church members bear in mind that the fact that their names are registered on the church books will not save them.  They must show themselves approved of God, workmen that need not be ashamed.  Day by day they are to build their characters in accordance with Christ's direction.  They are to abide in Him, constantly exercising faith in Him.  Thus they will grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ-wholesome, cheerful, grateful Christians, led by God into clearer and still clearer light.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, 48.

May 17:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

Content With What the Lord Gives.
" 'And do you seek great things for yourself?  Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,' " says the Lord.  "But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go."--Jeremiah 45:5, NKJV

THE WIDE, DEEP RIVER, that offers a highway for the traffic and travel of nations, is valued as a world-wide benefit; but what of the little rills that help to form this noble stream?  Were it not for them, the river would disappear.  Upon them its very existence depends.  So men called to lead in some great work are honored as if its success were due to them alone; but that success required the faithful co-operation of humbler workers almost without number--workers of whom the world knows nothing.  Tasks uncommended, labor without recognition, is the lot of most of the world's toilers.  And in such a lot many are filled with discontent.  They feel that life is wasted.  But the little rill that makes its noiseless way through grove and meadow, bearing health and fertility and beauty, is as useful in its way as the broad river.  And in contributing to the river's life, it helps achieve that which alone it could never have accomplished.

The lesson is one needed by many.  Talent is too much idolized, and station too much coveted.  There are too many who will do nothing unless they are recognized as leaders; too many who must receive praise, or they have no interest to labor.  What we need to learn is faithfulness in making the utmost of the powers and opportunities we have, and contentment in the lot to which Heaven assigns us.--Education, 116, 117.

May 16:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

Selfishness and Greed Breed Discontent.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.--Galatians 5:24, NLT

THE HEART IN HARMONY with God is lifted above the annoyances and trials of this life.  But a heart where the peace of Christ is not, is unhappy, full of discontent....A life of selfishness is a life of evil....Passions kept warm and fierce by Satan's promptings are a bitter fountain, ever sending forth bitter streams to poison the life of others.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, 488.

Those who yield to Satan's power gain no happiness thereby.  They are never contented or at rest.  They are dissatisfied, querulous and irritable, unthankful and rebellious.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 207.

The principles of worldlings is to get all they can of the perishable things of this life.  Selfish love of gain is the ruling principle in their lives.  But the present joy is not found in riches nor where covetousness is always craving, but where contentment reigns and where self-sacrificing love is the ruling principle.  There are thousands who are passing their lives in indulgence and whose hearts are filled with repining.  They are victims of selfishness and discontent in the vain effort to satisfy their minds with indulgence.  But unhappiness is stamped upon their very countenances, and behind them is a desert, because their course is not fruitful in good works.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, 382.

                                     A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
                             but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.
                                     Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
                                         but jealousy is even more dangerous.
                                                                                  --Proverbs 27:3, 4, NLT

May 15:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

The Hope That Brings True Joy.
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.  For He himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."--Hebrews 13:5, NKJV

CULTIVATE A CONTENTED, cheerful spirit.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 434.

The world is full of dissatisfied spirits who overlook the happiness and blessings within their reach, and are continually seeking for happiness and satisfaction that they do not realize.  They are constantly seeking on the stretch for some expected, far-off good greater than they possess, and are ever in a state of disappointment.--Testimonies for the Church, 640.

They have not God, they have not the hope which reaches to that within the veil, which is as an anchor to the soul both sure and steadfast.  All who possess this hope will purify themselves even as He is pure.  Such are free from restless longings, repinings. and discontent; they are not continually looking for evil and brooding over borrowed trouble.  But we see many who are having a time of trouble beforehand; anxiety is stamped upon every feature; they seem to find no consolation, but have a continual fearful looking for of some dreadful evil.

Such dishonor God, and bring the religion of Christ into disrepute.  They have not true love for God....Their affections have become morbid.  But vain amusements will never correct the minds of such.  They need the transforming influence of the Spirit of God in order to be happy.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 566.

                                              Though the fig tree may not blossom,
                                                          Nor fruit be on the vines;
                                              Though the labor of the olive may fail,
                                                        And the fields yield no food;
                                           Though the flocks may be cut off from the fold,
                                                 And there be no herd in the stalls--
                                                      Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
                                               I will joy in the God of my salvation.
                                                                                       --Habakkuk 3:17, 18, NKJV

May 14:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

The Love for Jesus and of Riches Are Incompatible.
"What should we do?" asked some soldiers.  John replied, "Don't exhort money or make false accusations.  And be content with your pay."--Luke 3:14, NLT

THE SELFISH, MONEY-LOVING MAN lives only to secure for himself the riches, honors, and pleasures of this world.  He loses the eternal world from his reckoning.--Christ's Object Lessons, 101.

If men love their riches better than they love their fellow men, better than they love God or the truths of His word, if their hearts are on their riches, they cannot have eternal life....Like the young man in the Bible, many go away sorrowful because they cannot have their riches and a treasure in heaven, too.  They cannot have both; and they venture to risk their chance of eternal life for a worldly possession....


...The love of Jesus and of riches cannot dwell in the same heart.  The love of God so far surpasses the love of riches that the possessor breaks away from his riches and transfers his affections to God.  Through love he is then led to minister to the wants of God's cause.  It is his highest pleasure to make a right disposition of his Lord's goods.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 172.

                                    Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich.
                                       Be wise enough to know when to quit.
                                     In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,
                                                    for it will sprout wings
                                               and fly way like an eagle.
                                                                        --Proverbs 23:4, 5, NLT

May 13:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

The Secret to True Happiness.
How I Praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again....Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.  I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.--Philippians 4:10-12, NLT

OH, THAT WE COULD BE SATISFIED with less heart longings, less striving for things difficult to obtain..., while that which God values above jewels, the meek and quiet spirit, is not cherished....It is better to endure cheerfully every inconvenience than to part with peace and contentment.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 622.

There are restless ones who, were they to go to a new place to live, would still be dissatisfied, because the spirit of disaffection is in their hearts, and a change of place does not bring a change of heart.  They need to learn the lesson of contentment.--Fundamentals of Christian Education, 495.

Those who are drinking at the fountain of life will not, like the worldling, manifest a longing desire for change and pleasure.  In their deportment and character will be seen the rest and peace and happiness that they have found in Jesus by daily laying their perplexities and burdens at His feet.  They will show that there is contentment and even joy in the path of obedience and duty.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 432.

             Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved,
         he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
                              
                                                                         --James 1:12, NKJV

May 12:  Cheerfulness and Contentment.

Riches Are Not Necessary.
Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing with these we shall be content.--1 Timothy 6:6-8, NKJV

MANY ARE DETERMINED to be rich; this is their study, and in their zeal eternal considerations are overlooked.  They are blinded by Satan and make themselves believe that it is for good purposes they desire this gain; they strain their consciences, deceive themselves, and are constantly coveting riches.  Such have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  They have sacrificed their noble, elevated principles, given up their faith for riches, and, if not disappointed in their object, they are disappointed in the happiness which they supposed riches would bring....

The apostle Paul shows the only true use for riches, and bids Timothy charge the rich to do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; for in so doing they are laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come....Godliness with contentment is great gain.  Here is the true secret of happiness, and real prosperity of soul and body.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 541, 542.

                   Commend those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty,
                              nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God,
                                        who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
                              
                                                             --1 Timothy 6:17, NKJV