HAPPY IS THE MAN - Proverbs 28:14
Proverbs 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth always: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Are you happy? When people ask you about your day, do you immediately tell them all the good things that occurred in your life or do you waste your time discouraging them with all the bad things that occurred? Your attitude does affect others. If you are happy and you act like you are happy, then others will desire to have what you have. If you are miserable and act like you are miserable, what hope do you have in ever winning someone over to the Lord?
There is a battle for your emotions. Satan knows that if he can get your focus upon the things of this world, then it will be easy to discourage you when things do not go your way. As long as you are discouraged, the light of God will not properly reflect through you.
One of the blessings of being a Christian is that no matter how bad things are in your life, you know that God is in control. Esther had heard the news that all the Jews were to be killed. Esther had the Jews pray for three days before she risked her life and went before the king. God was with Esther and the king showed her favor and the Jews were saved because of her actions.
God was with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when they were in the midst of the fiery furnace. These men refused to bow down to a false god and there punishment was to be burned alive. Even though they were going to their death, they had a positive attitude and they acknowledged that God could save them or he could allow them to die, but either way, their lives were in the hands of the Lord.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus started out with nine things that give a Christian happiness. The word blessed means happy. Jesus teaches us that we can be happy when we mourn, when we are persecuted, and for several other things. As a Christian, our happiness comes from God. This means that regardless of what is going on around us, we cannot focus upon our circumstances, we must learn to focus upon God and HIS power in our life.
Do you fear the Lord? One of the evidences of you fearing the Lord will be that you understand that God is in control of your life and as such, you do not have to become worried when life throws you lemons. The fear of the Lord allows you to be content.
Those who do not fear the Lord blame God when they face difficult times. They do not trust God because in their minds, how can a loving God allow such terrible things to occur in their life and in the lives of others. They are not happy because they think that God owes them happiness. Instead of turning to God in their time of trouble, they continue the downward destructive spiral of their life.
You may not be able to control the circumstances in your life but you can control how you respond to them. If you have taken the time to add knowledge of the ways of God and have the fear of the Lord in your life, then your natural response will be to trust God. When you trust God, you do not have to worry or be discouraged because it is out of your hands and you know that God has a purpose. It is only when you insist on doing things your own way that you start the miserable self-destructive cycle that makes you miserable along with everyone around you. Trust in the Lord and in the power of HIS might and you will find happiness. Focus on what the world can give you and you will never be content.