Are you "happy"? [Continued from July 30]

Therapeutic. Most people wouldn't argue with this statement: "God wants me to be happy". Sounds good, but is it true? If you had one wish for your children, would you ask God to make them happy? Of course not, just the sound of that speaks of lack, something is missing, something is incomplete when you say "I hope you have a happy life". But what? What if you told your children as they left for their freshman year of college: hope your belly's full all year long. Boy, that would be nice, huh? Never have to worry about eating again, never feel the pains of hunger, imagine the time you'd save to. But, think about what they would miss. God wants us to experience so much more than happiness that He's willing to sacrifice that happiness so that we grow in our dependence of Him. God loves us in the truest and deepest sense of the word, and that brings so much more into our existence than just "happiness". If you never felt the cold, would you appreciate the warm house? If you never felt wet, would you appreciate dry clothes? If you never went through the tough times, would you appreciate the good times? Have you heard of joy? Joy can be felt in the good times and the bad times. Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22); it comes by possessing the Holy Spirit as a follower of Jesus Christ. It's amazing and it's totally beyond human ability. It doesn't come from having a good life or from avoiding tough times, it's only available when we understand and apply what joy really means, Jesus, Others, Yourself. Get that right and joy is yours.

Jesus said "I have come that you might have life, and life more abundantly." John 10:10 An abundant life is not a happy life, think about it. It's more. A happy life is like a baked potato, an abundant life is like a baked potato with all the fixins. Will Smith had it half right in the "Pursuit of happiness", good movie, good ending, but he still lacked in the end. Why? What was he missing? Abundant life! God has so much more in store for us, He doesn't want us to skirt around tough times to avoid pain, because that's where we turn into real men and women. Pursuing happiness would have us avoiding pain, causing us to miss growing opportunities, thereby missing the abundant life. Think about the best times in your life, were you happy? Get your potato with all the fixins.

Grace, MB