There’s nothing worse than a sad sack. You know, those gloomy characters who can never see the good in anything. They are such awful people to be around, because they just drag you down. So here’s the question – are you one of those sad sacks?

Yeah sorry to be a bit blunt there but it doesn't hurt us to look in the mirror every now and then and ask ourselves some tough questions like that. So are you one of those people who exudes joy or sadness? A positive outlook or a negative outlook? Encouragement or discouragement? Which one of them are you? Or do you fluctuate between the two, up on the mountain tops one day, down in the dumps the next?

The reason I'm asking is that if you're someone who spends more than a little time down in the dumps then it's having an impact on you, it's having an impact on the people around you and it's having an impact on the relationships that you have with them. It's pretty far-reaching because if we damage relationships we damage career prospects, we damage marriages, we damage children. It's pretty serious stuff.

This week again on the program we're continuing in a series of messages that I've called Stress Busters. The world wants us to believe that we can wave a magic wand and make stress disappear. The other day I shared some of the superficial rubbish on stress reduction from one very well-known celebrity's website. Here's another load from one of these Body and Soul sites, ten quirky stress busters it's called.

Chew gum, eat chocolate (that will be just fine and dandy when you come down off your sugar high), get a cat, keep a diary, do some yoga, hum a tune, blow up a balloon, snack on walnuts, (well that's a lot better than sugar filled gum and chocolate I have to admit) have a laugh or ring your mum.

Oh please, stress is so much deeper and so much more profound in our lives than that. It's a constant companion for many, many people. Everything stresses them or if not everything then they go through prolonged periods of stress over one or two very important issues or situations in their lives.

You've probably figured out that eating walnuts, as good as that may be for you, is not going to solve the problems in your life or relieve your stress, at least I'm hoping you have. You see the world’s answer to stress is to conjure something up out of nothing or to apply an external band-aid to heal a deep internal wound.

Have you had this experience? You're driving along in the car and it's a bright sunny day so you pop your sunglasses on but gradually the clouds roll in and at some point you're thinking, 'Boy it's a dark and gloomy day isn't it?' Then you realise you're wearing your sunnies so you take them off and it's only then that you realise that it's nowhere near as dark and as gloomy as you thought it was. Sure it's overcast but it's not dark and gloomy.

The attitudes of our hearts are a lot like those sunglasses. Some people are walking through difficult times with this gloomy dark view of the world and so the whole experience feels about a hundred times worse than it is. God knows that that's why He's concerned over the state of your heart. Have a listen to some of the things that He has to say in His Word about what's going on in your heart. Proverbs chapter 12, verse 25:

An anxious heart weighs you down but a kind word cheers you up.

Chapter 15, verse 13:

A happy heart makes the face cheerful but heartache crushes the spirit.

And chapter 17, verse 22 of Proverbs:

A cheerful heart is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

God’s interested in the state of your heart. Now yesterday we chatted about how to get God’s peace guarding your heart and your mind, do you remember, Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7:

Don't worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So simply by praying instead of worrying, by giving thanks, by laying out our concerns and needs openly before God He will replace the fear and the stress and the worry with His peace which will actually guard your heart and your mind. Imagine God's peace standing sentinel outside your heart and your mind to keep worry and stress away. I reckon that's a pretty good deal.

But what the Apostle Paul goes on to say straight after that, writing as he is from his prison cell on death row, is equally instructive in terms of how to foster that peace and how to keep the cheerfulness and joy that God’s peace brings strong in our hearts. The next two verses, Philippians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9:

Finally beloved whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just or pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there's anything excellent, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about those things. Keep on doing the things that you've learned and received and heard and seen in me and the God of peace will be with you.

So instead of mulling over the bad stuff and all the things that are wrong think about the good stuff. Now you might say to me, 'I can't control what I think about'. Sure you can. When you find yourself thinking about something that's negative you can choose to think about something positive instead. Try it, it actually works and if you're struggling you go back to prayer and the Holy Spirit who is remember in the business of guarding your heart and your mind with God's peace and He's right there to be part of that and to help you.

And now the exciting thing that happens is that we get benefit from that on the inside but other people, the people around us also get benefit as that joy and that peace and that quiet confidence and trust in God oozes out of us and overflows in their lives. They look at you and go, 'Wow, what's that person got, I want some of that.'

Do you want to be glum? Do you want to be down cast? Do you want to be feeling down in the dumps all the time? Well I hope the answer to that is no, so now you implement these two simple things, pray instead of worrying and when you find your mind wandering into those down things and imagining all the bad things that can happen, take control and grab it back.

With the help of the Holy Spirit who is on your side and focus on the good stuff, the stuff that God is about in your life and now you are living a much, much better life on the inside because you're at peace, your heart is cheerful, Jesus wants you to have a cheerful heart. Remember what He said to His disciples, John chapter 16, verse 33:

In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.

So your life is much better but now this peace and this joy is oozing out of you and all of a sudden you can't help it, you want to encourage others, you're having an impact on their lives:

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart and good news brings health to the bones.

Proverbs 15:30

So the cheerful look on your face is going to bring joy to someone else’s heart and health to someone else’s bones. The encouraging word that you give to them, the good news that you share with them is going to give life to them. Friend, your joy can touch their lives, your life improves, their life improves, your relationship with them improves all because you took the time to lay hold of the peace and the joy that God has for you.

Man, talk about a stress buster. When you're in that dark place, when you're in your death row cell pray with a joyful heart, tell God all your troubles and His peace will guard your heart and your mind and then spend your time thinking about the good things that God is doing and the joy of the Lord will be your strength.