Tag: #happiness

A Life that Is Not Anxious

Worry and anxiety, which are basically the same thing, can rob a life of health, wealth and happiness. Anxiety can paralyze a soul and kill the body. It can ruin relationships and destroy marriages and families. Anxiety is not from the Lord but is one of the favorite tools of the devil.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Anxiety lurks in every opportunity and waits at every door. Anxiety is a result of fear and fear is the opposite of faith. Satan is the thief and he wants to make a person fearful. If he can put one in a state of fear then he can keep them anxious. If they are anxious then they become devoured and controlled by their fears and worries.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. I Peter 5:8

There is an answer to the struggle of being anxious and worried. It is not God’s design for anyone to struggle with these two afflictions. God’s provision is for anyone who desires to be set free from fears, worries and anxiety.

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

If a person will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to be their Savior and Lord then He will be with them. He will be their God, which means Savior. He will help them, strengthen them, and will uphold them. He is saying in this verse that you need not be afraid and you need not look to others to save you in your difficult or impossible situation but that He will save you. This is a promise for those who belong to Him.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

The Lord wants you to come to Him with all of your worries and anxieties. Talk to Him and let your requests be made to Him. Thank Him for hearing you.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, I Peter 5:7-9a

When you pray then you are humbling yourself before the Lord and this is how you keep firm in your faith. When a person stays firm in their faith and casts their anxieties on Jesus Christ then they are resisting the devil. When a person resists the devil then the devil flees.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7b

The Lord says that He will never leave us or forsake us.

for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5b

Not only will He never leave us or forsake us but after we suffer in our afflictions then He comforts us.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, II Corinthians 1:3

After He comforts us then He makes us more like Him, confirms our relationship with Him, strengthens us and establishes us.

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. I Peter 5:10

A Life Filled with Happiness

Everyone wants to be happy and parents want their children to be happy. Yet, few people know how to find happiness and it eludes the majority of people. Many people struggle with unhappiness and depression and live with it on a daily basis. Another word for happiness is gladness. Gladness and happiness are feelings of wonderful well being and peace that give a person great satisfaction and confidence. The Bible describes Jesus Christ when He lived on earth as a man as having more gladness than all of his friends. He was filled with great joy, peace and gladness.

“You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions.” Hebrews 1:9

God is the One who gives happiness and gladness and it comes from loving to do what is right, or in other words, loving “doing the right thing”. Jesus wanted to always do the right thing and He always did the right thing. In the same way, when a person does what is right then they too will enjoy much happiness and gladness. They will have a clear conscience and have confidence in every situation because they “did it right” beforehand. Just as when a person goes to take a test in school and they studied beforehand and learned the material, then they will have confidence and peace when they go to take a test and they will have gladness afterwards for they were prepared. Life is similar and is filled with many tests. If a person has done what is right and is prepared then they will have confidence and peace.

And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:17

Life is made up of many tests but the final exam will come at the end when a person dies. If one has done what he needs to do then he will die in peace, if not, then there will be no peace.

“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord. Isaiah 48:22

The fool lives as if there is no God and the wicked person does not fear God. Both will have to give an account of their lives at the end. It has been said that there are no atheists on the deathbed. God has made Himself known to all men and every man has chosen for himself if he will turn to God.

Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
For it flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
Psalm 36:1-2

A wicked and foolish person knows that he has done wrong. His guilt is ever before him. He will say that he hates what he does but he does not hate it enough to stop doing it and to turn to God. If he will only turn to the Lord and cry out to Him, then God will give him the power to stop. Either a person is going away from God or they are going towards Him. Once a person turns toward God then God will meet the one who wants to be right with God.

You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved? Isaiah 64:5

Yes, a person can be saved. Any person can be saved who will come to Jesus Christ. It does not matter what a person has done or how far he has gotten from God. If one turns to the Lord and calls on Him then the Lord will save him. God’s peace will come into their life. They will have much gladness and happiness. They will have peace and confidence for the day when they will breathe their last breath. They will be forgiven of all of their sins, past, present and future. Their heart will be right with God. They will want to follow Him with all of their heart and do what is right. They will receive a new heart that will want to do what is right. Life will no longer be the struggle that it once was for they will have a new life, not one of surviving but a life of living life to the fullest. They will be blessed. This happiness in life and blessing of life is available for all and those who choose the Lord will receive it. True righteousness is based on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is coming to Jesus Christ and calling on Him to be your Lord and Savior.

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8b-13

If you are a Christian already then the Lord wants you to live out the righteousness that He has given you in Christ. Keep a clear conscience. Have you done what His Word says to do? He has given you His righteousness so that you can live out His righteousness in this present life on earth. If you are lacking in peace, quietness and confidence in any area then get into His Word and find out what His way is in the particular situation. His way is wisdom and He will give wisdom to any who asks Him and without reproach, which means, even if you got yourself into this mess He will help you get out of it. God has forgiven you but He is not mocked. If you have done wrong then you will receive the consequences of the wrong which you have done but don’t continue doing wrong because it will only get worse. Repentance is turning from your sin to God. He is a present help in time of trouble. He wants to restore your peace and fill you will His gladness and you will once again know happiness in your life.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:2-5