The Lord does He want your happiness ?

Wednesday April 28, 2021

The Lord does He want your hapinness ?

“Happy is the man who does not follow the counsel of the wicked, who does not stand in the way of sinners, and sit not with scoffers, but who finds pleasure in the law of the Lord and in the law of the Lord. meditate day and night !” Psalm 1.1.2

Some believers speak so often about holiness and the need to obey many rules in order to please God that one can imagine that He frowns as soon as one of His children aspires to happiness here- low. Certainly our walk with the Lord passes through an attitude of repentance before Him when we consider the weight of the sins that we have committed and continue to commit as long as our feet tread this earth. Yet the Bible has hundreds of expressions that convey the idea of ​​happiness. The Greek word makarios - translated not happy throughout the text says “of the beatitudes” means both “to be fortunate, lucky”, and “to be rich”. When Jesus says : “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven !” (Matthew 5.3), it is as if He said : "Those who are poor and humble, the little people, are in fact fortunate, rich because they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven !" It is no coincidence that Jesus repeats the expression "happy is he..." throughout the beatitudes. Let's face it, we think about holiness, but we desire happiness ! God understands our human nature because He made us that way. Isaiah cried out : “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace, and he who brings very good tidings, who proclaims salvation, and who says to Zion : Your God reigns !” (Isaiah 52. 7). That our culture has hijacked the meaning of many words in the Bible should not lead us to reject them. David was not afraid to dance in front of the Ark to express his happiness at seeing the “presence” of his God entering Jerusalem. Consider these verses : “Go eat a good meal and drink sweet liquors, sending portions to those who have not prepared anything, for this day is a holy day to our Lord. Do not be sad, for it is the joy of the Lord that is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) ; “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20) ; “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you may overflow with hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit !” (Romans 15. 13). Yes, the Lord wants your happiness !

Source (His Word for Today)