Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but
his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and
night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in
its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The
wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the
wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous; Psalm 1:1-6
There are many different theories about where true
happiness can be found and to some degree it can be different for
everyone. God created us all with
different likes and dislikes. Some
people will feel happiness on a rainy day while it may make others feel sad. One thing is the same for all mankind. Jesus died for all of us, no matter who we
are or what our likes and dislikes are.
And although we each have our own little things that attribute to our
overall happiness, one thing remains the same for all of us…bad choices will
lead to unhappiness.
It doesn’t matter
who you are, how much money you have, or where you come from for all of us the
consequences of bad choices will bring heartaches. Even if you don’t make any seriously bad
choices like breaking the law, just choosing NOT to follow God will leave you
empty and unsatisfied.
The scripture above
states that the man who chooses to follow God and stays away from sin will be
blessed. He delights in following God’s
commands and he meditates on it day and night.
He thinks about the Lord’s commands before he makes a choice or does
anything. He is reading and learning and
fellowshipping with other Christians.
Will this get you the biggest house and the most expensive car? No.
Will you be “happy” for the rest of your life? No.
There will be times when sadness will weave its way into your
heart. But there is a place in your life
that no person or thing can fill besides God.
Anything else you plug in to make you feel happy will not last. Our flesh is never satisfied and will always
want more. That is why we are prone to
addictions. We may turn to the pleasures
of the flesh to fill the void and when it is never satisfied, addictions
develop.
The things of this
earth are all temporary. Things break
and we can’t take them with us when we die.
Beauty is fleeting and we all grow old eventually. Relationships come and go. What then?
Lasting and true happiness comes from a relationship with God and
keeping His commands. Living a life of
no regrets is a priceless thing but all of us have some regrets as we look back
on our decisions in life. Certainly, the
less regrets you have the better. How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of
the LORD. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with
all their heart. Psalms 119:1-2 NASB
Sometimes we live
our lives so carelessly without real consideration of what we are doing and the
lasting effects those choices may have on our lives. Anything that results in us turning away from
the Lord His design for our happiness is not a good thing. True happiness comes only when we not only
know the commands of our Heavenly Father, but our life reflects it by the way
we live.
Scripture to claim:
Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. I John
2:15-16 “
