HOW TO FIND REAL HAPPINESS
Let’s take time to consider what is truly important by asking yourself a very important question. “IS FINDING HAPPINESS THE ULTIMATE GOAL IN MY LIFE?”
This world can offer temporary happiness, but TRUE happiness is found ONLY in knowing and understanding God’s Word. ALL other ways to find it are DEAD END STREETS for the believer in Jesus Christ. Only the Word of God is “alive and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (which is the thinking part of our mind).” (Hebrews 4:12)
God has a monopoly on HAPPINESS, and He is the source of it. God has a plan for your life, but in order to find and follow His plan, you must first be willing to give your time, ON A DAILY BASIS, to study His Word. First, you must have an honest desire to learn the Word of God, and when you do, He will provide a prepared pastor/teacher who knows the original languages of scripture so that he will be able to instruct and guide you as you grow spiritually and fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
God has given every believer in this fantastic, unique CHURCH AGE in which we live, the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit, who is our true teacher of the Word of God. While Jesus was still on this earth, He predicted and told His disciples that after His death, burial and resurrection, He would send the Holy Spirit to help them:
“When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shell He speak, and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” (John 16:12-14)
In order to be taught by the Holy Spirit, we must be in fellowship with the Lord by keeping short accounts with Him regarding sin in our life. We do that when we acknowledge (name) our known sins to Him, and when we do, He promises: “If we confess (name) our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse (purify) us from all wrong-doing (our unknowns sins).” (1 John 1:9)
In Philippians 4:4, we are commanded to “keep on having HAPPINESS at all times.” That is impossible for us, but God gives the ability to us when we are in fellowship with Him and keep learning Bible Doctrine. As we grow spiritually by consistently taking God’s Word into our mind and making it dominant in our thought pattern, we will learn to have proper respect for ourselves personally. We will also learn that it is no longer necessary to depend upon other people to solve our problems, because GOD’S WORD HAS ALL THE ANSWERS. Eventually, we will become spiritually mature and have a right scale of values by which to live and effectively serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 3:13 teaches: “Happy is the man who finds wisdom (wisdom is the application of Bible Doctrine to experience), and the man who gains understanding (who learns to discern between truth and falsehood).”
There are no instant solutions to finding happiness. Psalm 128:1 says “Happy is the one who is occupied with the Lord.” It is impossible to find that kind of happiness without a consistent, positive, daily intake of God’s Word.
The following are examples of how we may find the HAPPINESS OF GOD for our lives:
In John 15:11, Jesus said to His disciples, “I have TAUGHT you these things so my happiness may be in you.”
In Psalm 16:11, David tells us that there are three ways in which we can share the happiness of God:
1. “You will make known to me the path of life.” Thinking God’s thoughts comes as a result of learning, believing, metabolizing and applying Bible Doctrine, which is the mind of Christ.
2. “In your presence is the fullness of happiness.” When we name our known sins to the Lord, as stated in 1 John 1:9, we can be in His presence and enjoy fellowship with Him. Only then can we have His happiness.
3. “At your right hand there are pleasures forever more.” Jesus Christ is seated in a glorified, resurrection body at the right hand of the Father, and He has escrow blessings to distribute to believers who honor His Word.
Have you discovered the happiness of God?
Layout and web work Wes Miller
10/17/2009
links to Lois Delnay's Children Bible Study
http://gettoknowyourbible.org/
http://loisdelnay.bravehost.com/index.html
