This morning I woke up a little early and was thinking about why I am not happy a lot of the time. As I was considering this I realized I must really have a crummy religious faith if it doesn't help me find happiness. There are lots of verses in God's word that speak of abundant life and I often think of the verse in Hebrews 1:9 that says God annointed Jesus with the oil of gladness above all his brothers. So Jesus was happy. As I was thinking I realized that the things that I am unhappy about probably won't be affected by my happiness or unhappiness. And my constant dwelling on these things makes for a really crummy witness.
So what can I do? I can set my thoughts on the reasons I should be happy. There is a song that starts, "Tell me why we should not be extremely happy, We've a living hope that we by faith can see!" So I got up and looked up the song and sang it.
Happy is such a fickle thing. I sang the song and started thinking about the wonderful hope that I have in my relationship with Jesus.
I became happy.
If I am living my day thinking about the things that are wrong, I will not be happy. If I live my day occupied with the blessings of following Jesus I will be happy. So my religion is what is on my mind in my daily life. That is the light that shines from my life. My dear frind Nicholas calls it practicing the presence of Jesus. Andrew Murray might call it Abiding in the Vine. Another song calls it Living Faith.
I have work to do here. How about you?
Be Faithful; Rick
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