THE HAPPY PERSON!
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on His law day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV)
The word blessed here means happy. It reads like this: Happy is the one who… For years, I thought of God as a killjoy, but I’ve come to see God as the happiest being in the universe. Think about this. There’s no one in the entire world who is happier than God! Do you see Him that way?
Those who aim for happiness on this earth rarely get it. However, those who aim for heaven get happiness, too. It’s a byproduct of life in the Spirit. When I think of the Godliest people I know, I think about their joy and happiness. How does this happen? Is it their upbringing or personality? Not at all. Some have had tough lives filled with adversity. God’s happiness started to bleed into their lives. It came from hanging out with the happiest being in the universe.
Have you noticed that if you hang out with someone long enough, you start to talk, think and act like them? The same is true of God when you hang with Him regularly, not just on Sundays. You begin to act, think and talk like Him. Sometimes, we believe God is only in the serious things. The Bible helps us understand every good and perfect gift comes from God.
God doesn’t just want to make you holy. He also wants you to be happy. Here’s the key: Your happiness can’t be at the expense of holiness, or you’ll never be really happy. The world makes God a genie for pleasures and joy, but God doesn’t just want our happiness. He also wants our holiness. When you go after the holiness of God, you’ll find happiness. One thing that leads to happiness is hanging around people who don’t follow the patterns of the world, as we see in Psalm 1. They deliberately avoid the influences of the wicked, sinners and mockers. They find delight in God’s word, meditating on it consistently. Walk with God and Godly people and watch happiness bubble up in your life.
APPLICATION: When you go after the Holiness of God, then happiness will follow.
PRAYER: Thank God that holiness creates deep happiness and joy. You’re free to love and find joy because you know the depths of God's love and provision. Ask the Spirit if there’s anything blocking happiness in you today. Ask if there’s anything you need to give to Him!
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?