PSALM 84:1-4 – How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah.
THEME OF THE DAY. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Every human wants it. Every human seeks it. Christian or non-Christian, happiness is a God-given desire that cannot be denied, quieted, or ignored. God wired us for happiness. The problem is we tend to seek it in all the wrong places. We may trace this truth back to the Garden of Eden. It was there the wiring for our happiness got “short-circuited.” Through our first parents, and every human being since, including ourselves, the wires of happiness “got cut” and the scissors were and are sin. We only need to look in our world, and in ourselves, to see the futility of seeking happiness apart from God. Just make a quick list of the pursuits people, even us, take to find happiness. Here are a few – drugs, alcohol, sex, materialism, human relationships, achievements, hobbies, recreation, education, achievements, vocations, social status . . . and the list goes on and on and on. And the stark reality is that sooner or later, hopefully sooner, we will be awakened to the truth that every road we seek to find happiness in this world apart from the Lord is a dead-end street.
When it comes to happiness in the Lord, there are three primary things He provides to take us to this place of contentment – His Word, prayer, and church. As Christians, we are ready to acknowledge time in His Word and prayer are sources of happiness in the Lord, but what about His church, the fellowship of His people?
In today’s scripture, the Psalmist concludes with these words, Blessed (happy) are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise. Ask these questions of ourselves . . . “Could I say that of me? Do I find myself enjoying happiness in my local church? Am I committed to my local church where God has ordained happiness in Him is to be found and experienced? These are important questions to ask. How we answer them tells us much about our understanding and commitment to God’s ways of happiness. Sadly, too many Christians live isolated or on the fringe of life in their local churches. They may attend faithfully, but they don’t immerse themselves in the body life of a local assembly of believers. Perhaps an hour or so on Sunday morning defines their involvement and such limitation draws them away from God’s means of enjoying what they long for – happiness. And the danger with this “on the outside looking in” type of Christianity is that if we are not finding happiness in the Lord’s ways, we will seek it, in vain, in the world’s ways. It shows, too. Christians living on the fringe of church life are not living on the fringe of the world’s life. Look at their lives in the ways they spend time and energy. If it isn’t toward the things of the Lord, it will be to the things of the world, and the pursuit of happiness this way may give temporary happiness, but it won’t last. It will leave one empty and discontented, even unhappy.
God has said, “Blessed or happy are those who dwell in your house.” May we find each of us knowing this soul-contenting experience that God has provided for our happiness and contentment.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for providing me true happiness now and forever.”
QUOTE: “Happiness is not found in anything or anyone apart from God’s prescribed means.”