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There are many people in the world who choose to postpone their happiness
until some event has taken place in their life. They believe the lie that
their happiness cannot be fulfilled until they have reached that goal or
attained that possession. What we must realize is that joy or happiness
does not lie in an event or in a possession. Happiness is a way of being.
Happiness is seeing today for all that it is and for all that it can be
and doing our best to extract as much joy from today as we possibly can.
Each day that we awake is a gift that we've been given and we should never
waste our gifts of today for an event in the future that we may never be
lucky enough to see. (Psalm 118:24) (Philippians 4:4-7) (Psalm 18:32)
Instead, we have the blessing of today to be joyful with our friends and
family and recognize that the truest of riches are found in the simplest
of things. Take an extra moment to recognize the many blessings that you
possess. Be thankful for your health, your family, your job, your friends
and all the love that you have in your life. By being thankful for what
we have now, we will find our joy and our happiness restored. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
I hope this message encourages and challenges your heart to not wait for
the future to be happy. Be happy with where you are now in life and know
that happiness never lies in the future, but is available for you right now.
THEN I’LL BE HAPPY
For a good part of my life I suffered from a disease. This disease dampened
my spirits, drained me of my energy, and robbed me of my vitality.
Sometimes it even made it hard to get out of bed in the morning. It made
every part of my life more difficult and demanding. For a while too it
looked like this disease would be a weight I would have to carry for the
rest of my life. This disease was called, “And then I’ll be happy.”
I think I first caught it in middle school. During my younger years I
seemed to always enjoy the moment and relish each day of my life. At some
point during those middle school years, however, I remember starting to
look to the future more and more and enjoying today less and less. At
first I thought getting into high school and being a teenager would make
me happy. Then the dream switched to being the high school football star.
That was followed by being on my own in college.
Next came having a great career and a high paying job. Getting rich and
having that big house followed it. After that was the dream of raising a
family. Then there was retiring and finally enjoying my life. Each dream
postponed my happiness a little further down the road. Finally I realized
that if I kept going this way, I would be dead before I was happy.
That is when I came to see that it would be a lot better to be happy now
than to live with this disease. Life I knew would always have fresh
problems and frustrations, but I thought it would be a lot better to meet
them with a happy heart and loving soul rather than waiting for life to be
perfect. These days I am in remission. I still have occasional flare ups
of “And then I’ll be happy,” but I heal them by knowing that I can choose
love and joy every second of my life.
God loves us all so much and wants us to be happy today, tomorrow, and
forever. Let’s not let Him down. Let’s choose love, share joy, and spread
happiness with every moment we have.
By Joseph J. Mazzella
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Psalm 37:3-5 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and
He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the
LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”
Psalm 121:5-8 “The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right
hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD
shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The LORD
shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and
even for evermore.”
Psalm 103:2-5 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who
redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness
and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's.”
Psalm 138:6-8 “Though the LORD be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly:
but the proud He knoweth afar off. Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth Thine hand against the wrath
of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect
that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake
not the works of Thine own hands.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem190.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: JULIE HARRELL'S TESTIMONY
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony13.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
