The Oklahoma Syndrome?

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MP4 Video - 1080p (90.97 MB)
MP4 Video - 720p (54.87 MB)
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The Oklahoma Syndrome?

MP4 Video - 1080p (90.97 MB)
MP4 Video - 720p (54.87 MB)
MP3 Audio (1.77 MB)
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Are we only joyful when things are working out perfectly?

Transcript

[Steve Myers] Do you have the Oklahoma syndrome? What do I mean by that? Well, if you know the play "Oklahoma!" or seen the movie, it begins with Curly riding his horse, and there is a beautiful morning. And he begins to sing, and he says, "Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day." Why? "I got a beautiful feeling, everything's going my way." But why was he feeling good that day? It wasn't the corn. It wasn't the sunshine. Well, he said, "Everything's going my way."

Well, of course, I'd be in a great mood when everything's going my way. But is that our perspective? I'm only right, I only feel good when everything's going my way. That's not biblical. That's not biblical.

The Bible talks about having joy. Having joy. And there's a big difference between happiness and joy. Joy is a choice. We choose to have a deep-seated joy in what God is doing in our life, what God is doing in this world, what God's plan and His purpose is all about.

So if I connect that to a song and the choice that we need to make, it's one that has to do with a street. Have you heard the song? It's an old one, one my dad used to love to sing. It goes like this, "Grab your coat. Don't forget your hat. Leave your worries on the doorstep. Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street."

That's what we need to do, and that really emphasizes this difference between happiness when everything's going my way, and that's easy, and it's based on circumstance, rather than joy. Joy is a choice. Joy has to do with us choosing to see the best in everything, even when things are rough, even when things are different. Even when things aren't going our way, we can have a deep-seated joy because of what God is doing in our life and in this world and in His wonderful plan. So make that choice. Choose the sunny side of the street.

That's "BT Daily." See you next time.