Life Ministries

Becoming a “4-H” Christian – part 3
 Ist Thessalonians 5:16-18  and Psalm 119:97-112

    There are four characteristics that we must have in our lives in order to “run the race” as the Apostle Paul puts it; or to live the life; or walk the walk; or persistently and patiently, and perpetually carry on in the abundant life that God has chosen for us to have. You see, we can never do that…we will always fall and fail, if we are not consistently hopeful. Or, if we are not consistently and constantly helpful or showing love toward one another. And, we certainly cannot begin to have the motivation to live this life according to God’s Word, if we are not happy. However, our faith and our hope and our love and our motivation in life have as their source the “holiness” or righteousness that God expects and demands.

    So, let’s talk about happiness. Proverbs 15:13 says “A happy heart makes the face cheerful”….
    When it comes to happiness, I think everyone would agree that there are basically four things that control the extent of our happiness; And, probably in this order of priority;  #1 - Family…( This may include all relationships…)  #2 Health… #3 is our Finances; and, #4 is Possessions.
    I think it would be unrealistic to expect that as Christians we ought to always be happy, and joyful because the extent of our happiness is affected by these things. However, as I said, happiness is a look inward. There is a reason for that…It’s because while the external circumstances of these things may temporarily affect what is going on around us, as Christians we know that true happiness depends on what is happening within us!  It is all about having peace IN all circumstances; and giving thanks IN all circumstances; and praying through all circumstances… not FOR or BECAUSE OF.  We cannot pretend to be joyful when we are hurting in some way, but we can find strength, and comfort, and trust, and peace in knowing that God is ultimately in control…and that is our inner joy…our inner happiness.
    If our faith and trust and even belief in God were to depend on external happiness, most of us would never be happy, .and we certainly would not be Christians. “The God of the mountain is still God in the valley!
    Psychologists tell us that people need three things to make them happy; They need something to do; They need something to love; and, they need something to look forward to. I think scripture would agree with that. However, to be truly happy, we must be doing the right thing, loving the right way, and looking forward to the right thing! True happiness has to do with having the right focus; As Christians we are called to focus on eternity and eternal things; We are to set our minds and our hearts on things above!…Colossians 3:1-3 says “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
    We are to focus on people not possessions. Why? Because people are the only thing of this world that are eternal!  We are to focus on service not self…Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” God knows that it brings us joy and we feel blessed when we are helping someone else; that’s the way he created us. And, when we are helping others instead of serving self, we are storing up “treasures in heaven”.  It’s all about what’s going on within us and not around us.
   There once was a very wealthy and successful man. He had more money than he could ever spend and he was admired and looked up to by his community. Still, he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn’t happy. All his life he had pursued happiness and strived for happiness but had never been able to find it. Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret to happiness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was weary and penniless, but he knew that none of that mattered now that he had found the temple. He asked a wise, smiling monk if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him the stairs leading to the room. He climbed them with legs shaking with anticipation and slowly opened the door. He stared into the room with sun-light streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man gazed at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.
    It is time that we all realized that we are the secret to our own happiness. Happiness is a choice that we make within. God loves us and gives each one of us the ability to fill our lives with love, joy, peace, happi-ness, and oneness with Him. We need only choose to do so day by day. Don’t spend your life searching the world for happiness. Just look in the mirror and choose to be happy. Then what’s in your heart, will reflect on your face.