Be HAPPY

As our ‘meteorological’ seasons change from the bright and colorful to the fading and loss of most colors we can be happy for so many reasons not least of which is the returning season of spring in the next year. REMEMBER: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” – Ecc 3:1

 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Rom 15:13

Thinking out loud

There are all kinds of ‘happy’. There is the giddy happy when you just attained some goal you worked hard to achieve. There is the heart is warmed happy that comes from doing something for someone spontaneously and seeing their joy at your impromptu charity – remember: More joy in giving than receiving. There is the everything-in-this-moment-seems-perfect happy. There is the contented happy when you are with your family for fellowship and laughter and light heartedness is the general spirit of the moment. And, there is the borrowed from the future happy we sometimes call hope. This is the happy through hope that keeps us going when we face tough times. King Solomon helped to dissect life in its many encounters. He called them seasons. For everything, in his experience, there is a season, a time for every purpose under the heaven. In fact, there is a time to weep and a time to laugh. Sometimes those two things are not mutually exclusive.

Many in today’s world lack the very necessities of life and happy [a subjective thought sometimes] is not an emotion they may feel except in being grateful for what they do have and of course the hope their lives will improve. Others simply lack even the understanding that their lives could be different or even how they see their lives now or in the future. They may be morose which eclipses the light of life on its way to finding joy. Some must go on an expedition in search of joy. ß This can be a happy season in and of itself.  

For the Christian, should we place more importance or desire @ happy or @ joyous? You may be pausing a moment asking what’s the difference? A bunch. Joy is genuinely linked to peace, mostly peace we try to grant or make for ourselves. That peace is fragile when we think in terms of being personally responsible for our own. We cannot control all things and surely the best-intentioned effort to make and live in peace is shattered when unexpected circumstances interrupt our ‘peace’ and consequently our ‘joy’. But, there is a peace and joy that we can have that we have no control over and endures despite the unexpected and often tragic circumstances that visit every one some time or another. That peace bears fruit in joy and is the rooted place in our being, our soul, our heart, our spirit, that helps to bloom the sense of ‘happiness’ we walk around with most of our days. Where do we find that peace? How do we attain it and how do we keep it? First, lets define the peace being discussed here.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. “ – Phil 4:6-7   A whole post could be dedicated to this one set of scriptures. But, for this post, and regarding where do we find peace and how do we attain it, we get it from GOD through Jesus Christ. How we get it is laid out in 1 Corinthians the 12^th chapter. In essence, a born-again Christian receives ‘gifts’ through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. One of those gifts is faith and with that faith and the presence of the Holy Spirit the evidence of that indwelling or manifestation is called ‘fruitage’ and we find a list of those in Galatians 5:22-23. And surprise! PEACE and JOY are listed!

Anxiety is the enemy of joy. See above, ‘be anxious for nothing’. Jesus took it a step further and practically: ““Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matt 6:34     Jesus focused the crowd he was speaking to, and by default anyone who reads HIS words now, on spending time seeking the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness and the consequences of that endeavor results in all the foregoing things being added to you. [““Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” – Verse 25]

Does not the prospect of just surrendering our ‘self-control’ to GOD through Jesus and the pursuit of the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness bring joy already?

Here is a list of scriptures you may find helpful along with concerted prayer and supplication to GOD to understand all things ‘joy’. Remember, joy is a fruitage of the Holy Spirit. Be sure to pray for Holy Spirit to increase your joy and your awareness of joy in your life.

Some scriptures to research

 Please look at the context of these scriptures. It helps to grasp what is said in each one. Again, joy comes in drawing close to GOD and HIS SON in prayer. 

 Psa 5:11 “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You

Psa 16:11 “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore

Psa 32:11 “Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psa 43:4 “Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God. [To be so  happy you feel like singing/composing/playing praise]

Ecc 5:20 “For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.” [verses 18-20 complete context]

Hab 3:18 “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” [verse 17 discusses adversity to which vs 18 is the response.]

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

Rom 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Jude 1:24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy”

May you be filled with the peace of GOD that surpasses all thought! May the peace and joy of GOD’s HOLY SPIRIT fill you and in abundance. When your life expresses the peace and joy outwardly people will ask, ‘How are you so happy?”

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” Matt 5:8 Message Bible †

©Lightwritingmatters 2015

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 DISCLAIMER: The thoughts published on this blog, in total, are the opinions, thoughts and considerations of the writer/author of every post published. It is assumed that research by the reader will lead the reader to their own conclusions. It is not the writer’s intent to make a judgment of anyone but to allow GOD’s Word to do what it does. “For the word of GOD is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from GOD’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:12 [NIV]

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©Lightwritingmatters 2015