Happy in the Lord!

My dad was dramatically converted when I was six and a half years old. He was totally changed by God’s gift of grace. All I remember as a child is how his attitude changed. He was transformed from the inside out and became filled with joy. He began preaching three days after he was saved and almost immediately developed his ministry slogan, “It’s fun being saved!” Dad often said that Christians shouldn’t just be “fine.” We should be “happy in the Lord” no matter our circumstances. In his last years, Dad always answered the question “How are you?” with an enthusiastic “Happy in the Lord!”

So, how are you? Life today is chaotic and uncertain. Stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic, financial crisis, racial tension, and tropical storms have placed a dark cloud over the world. Christians are not immune to these challenges, and we often have personal problems of our own. The Bible reminds us: “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Ps. 144:15).

The Bible, seconded by other reliable sources, teaches that true happiness comes only from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. From the time of conversion until our last breath, the Christian should be happy at all times and in all things. God is sovereign. And He has saved us. That sense of deep gratitude and utter joy gives our life meaning and is a powerful witness to others.

While the dictionary defines happiness as “the state of well being and contentment,” the Bible states that happiness is from the Lord, not dependent upon circumstances or possessions. These biblical promises remind us of the truth about the happiness which we all seek:

1. “Happy are you … a people saved by the LORD” (Deut. 33:29).

2. “Happy are your men and your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!” (1 Kings 10:8; 2 Chron. 9:7).

3. “Happy is the man whom God corrects” (Job 5:17).

4. “Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them [children]” (Ps. 127:5).

5. “When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you” (Ps. 128:2).

6. “Happy are the people who are in such a state [of prosperity]; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Ps. 144:15).

7. “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Ps. 146:5).

8. “He who has mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Prov. 14:21).

9. “Happy is the man who is always reverent” (Prov. 28:14).

10. “Happy is he who keeps the law” (Prov. 29:18).

Throughout history, many wise people have pursued an understanding of happiness. Because most people have sought personal happiness and continue to seek happiness today, the subject has been carefully studied. These thought-provoking quotes about happiness from respected people continue to apply to lives today:

Aristotle – “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the aim and end of human existence.”

Saint Augustine – “Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy.”

Charles Spurgeon – “Those who are ‘beloved of the Lord’ must be the most happy and joyful people to be found anywhere upon the face of the earth.”

C.S. Lewis – “The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water.”

Elisabeth Elliot – “The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment.”

David Jeremiah – “Happiness belongs to those who sorrow for the sin and suffering of this world.”

What an important time for Christians to study God’s Word and seek wise counsel to better understand how to have happiness for themselves and share it with others even in desperate times! So, the question today is “How are you?” I am HAPPY IN THE LORD!