Hey y'all! I hope y'all are having an amazing day so far! Just want to say a big thank you for sticking with me through my time of not having a laptop, when I could not write blogs like I wanted to. It was sort of upsetting for me, because writing is something I love to do. It is really the only way I can ever fully get my thoughts together and made known to others. I pray each and every day that my blog will bring encouragement to all that read it... because that is what I set out to do. I do appreciate all of y'all's kind words and daily encouragement, as it helps me make it through my week. I am overcome with joy every time that I open my email and see a message from one of my readers! Y'all bring me happiness, which is what I want to write about today.
We often hear that happiness comes from doing things our OWN way, which is not exactly true. This type of theory, or philosophy, only leads to emptiness, anxiety, heartache, brokenness, and stress. I am reminded of the poet W.H. Auden, who observed people as they attempted to find an escape in the pleasures this world offers: "Lost in a haunted wood, / Children afraid of the night / Who have never been happy or good."
The Psalmist, David, sings of THE remedy to our fears and unhappiness: "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." You see, happiness comes from doing things God's way, a fact that can be backed up EVERY DAY. David writes, "They looked unto him, and were lightened..." He later goes on and says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good..." What I think he means here is that if we just try it, try the Lord, we will find true happiness! We often say that "seeing is believing," and that is how we know things in this world - show me proof and I will believe it. God, on the other hand, flips it and puts it the other way around, believing is seeing - taste and THEN you will see.
Happiness is doing the right thing. Take the Lord at His word. Do the very thing He is asking you to do, and you WILL see. He will give you grace to do the right thing. But, that is not all. He will give you himself - the only source of goodness - and with that, a pure and enduring happiness.
"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:4-5
