Happy and Blessed

 

How is happiness defined in the Bible? 

In the Old Testament, Jeremiah 17 tells us that “Blessed are those who trust the Lord.” He compares them to a tree planted by water not fearing the heat or drought since it will not cease to bear fruit. This is a simile of our lives when we trust the Lord through the hard and lean times knowing that God will provide and will pull us through. What does “producing fruit” mean? It tells that even when we go through rough times God can use them to bring spiritual growth in our lives.

In Psalms 1, happiness is said to belong to those who delight in the law of the Lord and study it daily. For us modern believers we have more than the Law – the first books of the Old Testament, to study. We have the entire canon of scripture – Old and New Testaments to study and learn more about God’s faithfulness and love. We have the Gospels that tell how Jesus lived love.

Christ in his Beatitudes in Luke 6 calls blessed people we don’t generally associate with happy. He tells the poor that they have the kingdom of God. He tells the hungry that they will be filled and those who weep will laugh. People in these conditions need to trust in the bigger picture that God will provide.

Then Christ predicts what will happen to many early Christians who follow Christ’s teachings. They will be excluded, reviled, and defamed. Yet, Christ says you are blessed when this happens. Instead of moaning and complaining they are to rejoice and even “leap for joy” – “for great is your reward in heaven.” You are blessed because you’re being treated the same as the prophets of old.

How did these early Christians survive and even consider themselves blessed? It was through trusting the Lord and meditating on God’s word.

Like the simile used in these Old Testament passages, we are to be rooted in Christ the living water who will give us spiritual fruits of growth. We will not wither under the heat of life, but will prosper.

This is where happiness and blessedness come.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loving Our Neighbors like God

Psalm 146: 1-10, Mark 12:28-34 The psalmist in Psalm 146 gives praises to the Lord for all the great things God has done and continues to do. In comparing this passage with Mark 12 where Christ talks about the greatest commandment it is not only to love God with your whole being but to exercise that love to others – to your neighbor. In the account in Luke 10 a scribe asks, “Who is my neighbor?” to which Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Why does the psalmist praise the Lord? It’s because of the love God shows to God’s children. God is trustworthy – not like many the leaders of whom we are not to put our trust in. But our help and hope come out of God’s love for us. God is faithful and just. Here some of our neighbors are mentioned: the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the blind, the immigrants, the orphan, and the widow. God takes care of them, loving the righteous. In Mark 12 Jesus tells us the first greatest commandment is to love the one true God with all our h...
Read more

Giving it All

Mark 12:38-44, Hebrews 9:24-28 We all know the story of the widow’s mite. While all the rich give great sums of money much more than the poor widow yet Christ acknowledges her for giving out of her poverty – all she had. Jesus starts this passage telling the disciples to beware of the scribes in their fancy robes, greeted with respect and having the best seats at the synagogue and banquets. Where did they get all their wealth? One way Jesus points out is that they cheat widows out of their homes. The NRSV uses the stronger word – devour widows houses. Even though they say loud long prayers for sake of appearance – they will receive the greatest condemnation. All throughout the Old Testament God tells the Israelites to take care of the orphans and the widows. The scribes, however, are creating a tax on the poor keeping them in perpetual poverty. This woman is seen as giving all she has to live on – literally translated – her whole life. She has just put her life in the offering bo...
Read more

Confidence to Pour Out our Souls

I Samuel 1:4-20; Hebrews 10:11-23   Hannah had a problem. She was barren. Having children was the only way women got acknowledged back then, by giving birth to sons. To top it all off the other wife torments her by rubbing in how many children she has. So, we see Hannah at a breaking point. She goes to the temple deeply distressed and prays to the Lord weeping bitterly. In this prayer she makes a vow – some might call it bargaining with God, but she is sincere. Now her praying is silent yet in her agony she moves her lips mouthing the words. Eli seeing this accuses her of being drunk to which she replies, “I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.” Eli realizing her sincerity tells her to go in peace and may God grant the petition you have made. After this blessing from Eli, she returns and is able to eat again and her countenance is sad no longer. She appears to know God has heard and has the confidence that God will answer. Well God did. She conceives and gives birth to ...
Read more