Happy

‎Monday, ‎September ‎5, ‎2022

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Memory verse: Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Today's reading: PSALM 146-147 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-28

Happiness-Out Of This World

Psalm 27:12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

We hear a lot of this today, don't we? Yes, we do. Folks who are hearing the false witness about followers of Christ Jesus on national TV-even from the highest leaders. But Jesus told us that they would hate us.

John 15:17 This is My command to you: Love one another. 18 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.…

So, what, to you, is the difference between happiness and the Joy of The Lord? To me, happiness is temporary in that bad stuff still hits us from every direction. This is the way God grows us-not by hitting us with bad stuff but by teaching us how to trust Him in the middle of any of it.

God wants us to say as Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The joy of the Lord is my strength". It does not say the happiness of the Lord but the 'joy of the Lord'. The joy of the Lord is a constant in our hearts if we are conscious of Him and obedient.

Happiness, real happiness comes from knowing we have a God who will answer our prayers. That happiness gets interrupted by pain and hardship but if we continue to spend time with Him instead of wallowing in our pain, He will show us seasons of happiness. He will show us a determination to live in His joy and know His happiness like the Psalmist who said,

13 Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!…(this follows the verse at our beginning today:Psalm 27:12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.)

So we must wait patiently and be strong and courageous. This calls for our obedience. WE must wait patiently-no matter how hard that is to learn-we must.

We must be strong and courageous, no matter the odds-odds are a construct of the human mind. God pays no attention to odds.

2 CHRONICLES 20:15-‘Don’t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle!

For practice, pray like the Psalmist prayed:

Psalm 144:12 Let our sons in their youth

grow like strong trees.

Let our daughters be

like the decorated stones in the Temple.

13 Let our barns be filled

with crops of all kinds.

Let our sheep in the fields have

thousands and thousands of lambs.

14 Let our cattle be strong.

Let no one break in.

Let there be no war.

Let there be no screams in our streets.

The Psalmist then said,

15 "Happy are those who are like this.

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord."

Joy is a constant in which we must choose to live-good times or bad. Happiness is promised to those whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 27:13 Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!…

and love...

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

Forgive my feeling sorry for me. I choose to take hold of Your happiness. I choose to believe my God and Lord wants happiness for me. I will see Your goodness in this land no matter what is going on.

God of all certainty and all courage and all strength-my Lord and my God,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen