[365 words]
It is probably an understatement, but we live in a very unhappy world. Unhappiness is seen on the faces of so many as they try to maneuver through the difficult challenges of everyday life. Unhappiness is not only seen on the poor unfortunates of our world, but it can be seen on so many who supposedly have life under control. But if you look more closely, you see the unhappiness in their lives as well.
So, what is the answer to the truly happy life? Last Sunday evening I shared from Psalm 1 and the psalmist’s pursuit of true happiness. He found happiness in God’s Word and in living for Him. Many of the psalms share the same sentiment: a pursuit of happiness is filled when the pursuit is for God!
The psalmist in Psalm 84 begins, “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. How blessed [happy] are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You” (vss. 1, 4).
I began this article with the understatement of the lack of happiness in our society today. Let me go another step and suggest much of the unhappiness of the world can also be seen on the faces of God’s children. Are we looking for happiness in the right places? Is it possible that we are trying so hard to keep up with the world that we are actually missing out on the true joy and happiness that can only be found in the Lord?
As the psalmist nears the end of this particular psalm he states, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (vs. 10).
Perhaps as we consider the ways of true happiness, we should stop and consider if our pursuit is really after the ways of the Lord. The key to true happiness is the presence of God. “How blessed is the man who trusts in You” (vs. 12)!
Paul Mowrer
Monticello church of Christ
Monticello, AR