Happiness Habit: See God’s Bigger Picture

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES The Habits of Happiness

Happiness Habit: See God's Bigger Picture By Rick Warren — Feb 10, 2016 “I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” (Philippians 1:12, NLT) If you want to be a happy person, you need to look at every problem from God’s viewpoint. Happy people have a larger perspective. They see the big picture. When you don’t see things from God’s point of view, you get discouraged, frustrated, and unhappy. No matter what’s going on in your life — the good, the bad, and the ugly, God is working out a plan. Paul knew this. He says in Philippians 1:12, “I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” (NLT). Ever since Paul became a Christian on the road to Damascus, he had dreamed one great dream: He wanted to preach in Rome, the center of the universe at the time. His dream was to preach the Gospel in the most important city in the world. But God had another idea. Instead of sending Paul to Rome to preach crusades, God made him a royal prisoner of Caesar, who was at that time Nero. Nero was about as wicked and as bad as you can get. As a royal prisoner, Paul was chained to a royal guard 24 hours a day for two years, and the guard was changed every four hours. Over two years in prison, he witnessed to 4,380 guards. Who’s the real prisoner here? Who had the captive audience? This wasn’t Paul’s plan, but it was God’s all along. There were two results of it that we know for sure. Philippians 4 says that within two years, some of Nero’s own family had become believers because of Paul’s witness in the royal court in Rome. Secondly, it’s kind of hard to get a guy like Paul to stop moving. In prison, he was forced to be still and, as a result, wrote most of the New Testament. I wonder which had a bigger impact: his preaching in the Colosseum or the books he wrote, such as Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. These seven books have revealed Jesus to millions of people over the years? Paul knew that God had a bigger plan, and he could be happy because he saw what God was doing through his problem. Any time you have a problem that’s starting to get you down, you need to do what Paul did — learn to see it from God’s point of view. Ask, “What is God doing here? What’s the bigger picture? What’s the bigger perspective?” Then you’ll be able to face the problem in faith. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Think of a problem that has you discouraged. How might your discouragement change if you look at it with God’s bigger perspective? How have you seen God work in the midst of a difficult situation in your past? Why do you think God is allowing you to struggle through a hard time? Our Gift: The Habits of Happiness Complete Audio Series Now—more than ever—people are yearning for true happiness. In this brand new 6-session DVD study kit study called The Habits Of Happiness Pastor Rick Warren will teach you “exercises for a happy heart”, and offer biblically based ways to develop a perspective of contentment. LEARN MORE Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes all complete sermons from the Rick Warren The Habits of Happiness teaching series. LEARN MORE Series Summary Message 1: Grow Healthy Relationships Message 2: ​​​​​How ​to Be Happy No Matter What Message 3: ​The Humble Path to Happiness Message 4: ​How to Keep Your Heart Happy Message 5: ​Happiness Can Be Learned Message 6: ​Five Daily Habits for Happiness Message 7: ​How to Keep From Stressing Out Message 8: ​God's Promises to the Generous PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at rickwarren.org. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe