Are You Happy?

What is happiness?

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. Clap, Clap.
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. Clap, Clap.
If you’re happy and you know it, and you really want to show it,
If you’re happy and you know it, Clap your hands. Clap, Clap.

I wonder how many people are truly happy. Too often, we measure happiness based on where we are in relation to others. I may be perfectly happy driving my Saturn until my neighbor drives up in his BMW. You may be very comfortable living in a one bedroom apartment until a relative tells you about their new four bedroom house.

 Did our condition change? Or did our perception of our condition change? Unfortunately, as long as we measure happiness based on how we compare to others, we will never know consistent happiness. But, there is a happiness – a spiritual joy- that is available to those who have a right relationship with God. Solomon wrote about this in Ecclesiastes: “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.” Ecclesiastes 2:26

 So happiness comes when our lives are pleasing to God. But what makes lives that are pleasing to God?

If we turn to the “Beatitudes” — found in the fifth chapter of Matthew — we get a surprising look at the types of people whom Jesus says are made happy (blessed). The Beatitudes change the focus from what we must do, or what we must possess, to what we must become to find happiness.

The Beatitudes describes the process through which we open our hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit. We all start out as sinners. It’s only through the work of the Spirit that we can change our lives and find true happiness.

Jesus showed us the starting point for this process when he said, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit.” Being poor in spirit involves a surrender of our pride and our self-sufficiency. It involves recognizing that there is nothing we can do to earn a spot on God’s roster. It’s all about the gift of salvation that flows from God’s grace. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Next Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Normally, when people read this verse they think of mourning, such as when a loved one dies. But Christian commentaries point us toward the sense of loss felt by someone who is so troubled by the sin they see in their personal life and in society that it actually grieves them.

There is an eternal difference between confessing sin and repenting of sin. The one who is truly repentant grieves over their sin. In this broken state, the Holy Spirit, the comforter, comes along side reminding them that there is forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

The next beatitude often causes men a problem: ^“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” I have to admit – when I hear the word meek – the first thought that comes to my mind is that puny little cartoon mouse with the whiny voice.

But meek doesn’t mean weak. A better definition for meekness is “power under control.” When Jesus bore our sins on the cross, he could have called down thousands of angels to save him. But he meekly submitted to the will of the Father. That was power under control. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we too could learn from Christ’s example and be humble, patient, and strong in God’s power?

Continuing in the Beatitudes, Jesus next spoke of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Here Jesus is talking about a hunger and thirst for righteousness that cannot be satisfied with normal portions. If he were speaking to today’s society, Jesus might have said, “Blessed are those who get their satisfaction from me rather than from the things of the world.” When our drive to know God becomes as strong as an addiction – Jesus tells us we will be satisfied.

Throughout the Beatitudes, the emphasis is on seeking God’s righteousness. As we read in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

As I wrote this message, I kept asking myself, “am I poor in spirit? Do I mourn over sin? Am I meek? Do I hunger and thirst for righteousness? Am I seeking God’s kingdom?

We are all works in progress, but I am convinced that the joy that we presently get from our relationship with the Lord is but a whisper of what he has waiting for us. When we open our lives to the leading of the Holy Spirit, he will push us toward that day when will be truly happy —and we’ll show it in our lives – Clap, Clap Clap!

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ