Happiness researchers have found that circumstances can contribute about 10 percent to our happiness—a remarkably small percentage. Next comes our internal makeup, including genetic factors and temperament, which can account for 50 percent of our happiness level. The final 40 percent is entirely within our control: our choices, behaviors, and thoughts. Yes, we can control our thoughts. They’re not foreign invaders against which we have no defense. Those who believe they can’t help the way they think and feel are simply wrong.

Why are some people happier than those in far better circumstances? The answer is perspective.

Our perceptions—much more than our circumstances—are the building blocks with which we construct our lives. No matter what the circumstances and stress, our view of life determines our level of joy and contentment. Having a biblical perspective is seeing life as God sees it. It is the ability to get past the immediate circumstances to see God’s ultimate plan.

We’re commanded in Scripture, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This change in thinking is our responsibility.

Our thought life is a choice. Martin Luther is credited with saying, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.” What we choose to think about leads us either toward or away from Christ, and therefore toward or away from happiness in Christ.

None of the three sets of factors identified by happiness researchers takes into account the power of God’s Word and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit indwelling God’s children. God is sovereign over circumstances, genetics, background, and temperaments. So even the 60 percent of happiness factors we can’t change are used by God to accomplish His purpose. And the 40 percent under our control are subject to the Holy Spirit’s influence.

Sometimes small, easy choices bring happiness—flipping through a photo album, petting a dog or cat, reading an inspirational book, baking cookies, or playing a game with those you love. At other times, life involves such sadness and stress that we must go through multiple steps and the passing of time before joy can emerge.

David began a psalm with these words: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. . . . I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears” (Psalm 6:2, 6). Near the end of the psalm, he says, “The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer” (verses 8-9). This realization lays the groundwork for moving David toward the kind of powerful joy that is so evident in other psalms.