“You make known to me the
—Psalm 16:11
I used to think there was a difference between happiness and joy… that happiness was the world’s word, and then joy was the Christian word. But when you really study it, joy and happiness and many other synonyms like delight and cheerfulness and gladness and merriment, this all comes because God is satisfying the deepest longing of the human heart which is to be happy, to be happy in Him.
The fact is God knows the most basic human need we have is the need to be happy. God, who is both a holy and happy God, has created within us this insatiable hunger for happiness! This is normal; this is life. Everyone… and I mean everyone instinctively wants to be happy.
God’s Word tells us how to be genuinely happy. And to be happy is to be rightly related to God.
Yet so many people are unhappy. I see so much sadness and depression and anxiety and stress and loneliness, especially among the young where the suicide rate is the highest ever! And not only in the world, but among Christians! I see so many Christians who are living with daily disappointments and lingering sadness in their lives. So many seem beaten down by the pressures and the problems of life.
The psalmist said in Psalm 119:105 “Your word is lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” And I can’t tell you how many times in dark nights and days I’ve turned to the Psalms to find help and hope.
DON’T JUST ENDURE LIFE; ENJOY LIFE!
