Daily Devotions
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
Are you happy? According to some reports, most of us aren’t.
If so, the lack of happiness is nothing new. History tells us that once, when Benjamin Franklin had concluded a stirring speech on the guarantees of the Constitution, a heckler shouted, “Aw, them words don’t mean nothin’ at all. Where’s all the happiness you say it guarantees us?”
To the ignorant challenge, Franklin smiled and replied, “My friend, the Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness; you have to catch it yourself.”
Well, most of us are still in pursuit of happiness. Sadly, many people are pursuing it in places where it can’t be found… or caught.
The Lord tells us, quite rightly, that true happiness-joy-and peace comes from people recognizing they need the forgiveness and salvation the Savior has bought for us with His life, suffering, death, and resurrection.
In other words, true happiness is found when the Lord brings our lives into harmony with His will.
Having said that, I know many people may not like that kind of answer to the question of the search for happiness.
I’m sorry they don’t like it, but that answer is as true today as it was in the days of Ben Franklin.
Goodness, it’s as true today as it was when Adam and Eve were booted out of the Garden of Eden for looking for happiness other than in the Lord. Theirs was a mistake we shouldn’t replicate or duplicate.
From a devotion originally written for “By the Way”
THE PRAYER: Dear God, I ask You today to strengthen my faith and fill me with the happiness that was won for me on Calvary’s cross. Bring my life into harmony with Your will, and may others see Your love through my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.