Read: Proverbs 15:13-17

A merry heart does good,
like medicine.
-Proverbs 17:22

As I was growing up, my wise Christian mother often
quoted Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good like
medicine.” Usually she did this when I needed to change
my attitude. Would I allow a negative spirit to poison
my thinking, or would I embrace an outlook of
thankfulness and its resulting joy?

She would smile at me and say, “A merry heart does
good like medicine.” That was it. No sermon, no
lecture, just seven words about the phenomenal value of
God-produced happiness that springs from deep inside.

In Proverbs 15 we also read, “A merry heart makes a
cheerful countenance” (v.13). The state of my heart
determines the look on my face.

Then, in verse 15 we read, “All the days of the
afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a
continual feast.” When circumstances yield
discouragement, I can still eat from God’s rich banquet
table of love. That’s because no matter what life gives
me, God can “put gladness in my heart” (Ps. 4:7).

My mother believed that if I stopped complaining and
began thanking God for the possibilities at hand, I
could have the powerful medicine of a merry heart.

I think she was right.
-David C. McCasland

Rejoice in Him, again, again,
The Spirit speaks the word,
And faith takes up the happy strain;
Our joy is in the Lord. -Peters

IF YOU HAVE JESUS IN YOUR HEART,
NOTIFY YOUR FACE!

OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1998 by Radio Bible Class,
Grand Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.