PSALM 119:1-3 – Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
THEME OF THE DAY. BEING A HAPPY CHRISTIAN. No Christian wants an unhappy walk with the Lord. And neither does the Lord want such for His children. Jesus proclaimed, “I came that they might have life and that abundantly” (John 10:10). He did not say, “I came that my people might live a miserable life of unhappiness.” Yet, many of God’s children lack joy, peace, and the abundant life God promised. I see each week in church and during the week interacting with other believers, Christians who just don’t seem happy. And when conversations occur, there is a noticeable spirit of discontent, of being overwhelmed with life, even complaining about life and its circumstances. Oh, I am not trying to create a gloomy scene of dark clouds hanging over Christians. There are joyous Christians all around but from my own experience and observation, unhappy Christians exist in our churches and communities. If my assessment is true, why is it so? Let me provide two reasons.
First, worldliness. The Apostle John wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). One of the quickest ways to becoming an unhappy Christian is to be more attached to the world than the Word. Let the pleasures and things of the world become our pursuits for inward contentment or happiness, and the results will always be discontent and unhappiness. And this comes from the Lord. He simply will not allow His people to know His joy, peace, and spiritual satisfaction if they love the world and the things of the world.
Another cause of unhappy Christians is our failure to understand that God places conditions or responsibilities for us if we are to know and experience the abundant life He promises. We are on a fool’s errand if we think all we must do is pray, ask God for the abundant life of happiness in Jesus, then wait for the “spiritual zap” from heaven. God does not work that way. So, if we want to be a happy Christian, we have things to do. In today’s scripture, there are two responsibilities we are to pursue to know the abundant life Jesus promises.
First, be intentional in our obedience to the Lord’s Word – “Blessed (happy) are those who walk in the law of the Lord.” In the physical realm of walking, we do so step-by-step in a way of natural intentionality. We know where we want or need to go, so we “tell” our feet, “Let’s go” and off we walk. The happy Christian life begins with an act of the will putting known commands of God into daily life. Bottom line, friends . . . no obedience, no happiness.
Next, don’t allow a divided heart when it comes to knowing the Lord – “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.” God promises to satisfy, even make us happy, not primarily in what He does for us or gives us, but in Himself. Nothing provides more soul-contentment than God Himself, but there is a catch. God may be known and enjoyed only when He becomes our chief desire and pursuit. The Psalmist says, “whole heart” and the Lord gave us the great promise, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). A divided heart, or a half-hearted heart in seeking the Lord produces an unhappy Christian.
The happy Christian. God has provided for it in His Son. May we meet the conditions and become what He desires for us – happiness in Him.
PRAYER: “Father, help me see that knowing Your joy does not occur without me fulfilling my responsibilities.”
QUOTE: “With every privilege God gives, He places responsibilities upon us to enjoy those privileges”