My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Believe in God; believe also in me. Humanity is hardwired to pursue happiness. Those drawn to a celebrity’s lifestyle of uncontrolled excess need only look at the latest headline to see that the unrestrained pursuit of pleasure does not fulfill us. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. He leads me beside still waters. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. The Bible provides us the comforting grace and love of the Lord, reminding us of His glory and mercy. N This is God and God alone. Christians believe that this is because we are made for something greater. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Let me push further: I believe that God—not Playboy or Kanye or Epicurus—made pleasure. We are saved by trusting in his death in our place and on our behalf, and in his resurrection, which gives us life and victory over death, sin, and Satan. Of course, we won’t naturally give ourselves to unlimited morality. S I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. ... Visit the Bible online to search for words if you don’t know the specific passage your’re looking for. A Psalm of David. Forget what you’ve heard: he’s a joyful God himself, and he loves nothing more than to make those of us who are chasing worldly happiness truly, deeply joyful. Labs In the Christian view, the Father, Son, and Spirit share perfect and unbroken fellowship. The righteous person, who trusts in God and not money, has a "green leaf" future!) ‣ So here is the astounding news: God calls us to be holy, blesses us with happiness through holiness, and gives us all the strength we need to be holy. ‣ My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord .”. And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. If that sounds technical, it doesn’t need to. We do know, however, that if joy cost Jesus his life, it will surely cost us something as well. By Owen Strachan “Don’t worry, be happy. 0 Comment. K P To be sure, not everyone is hedonically drawn to sex. ... My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Two of the most common, however, are hedonism and self-improvement. But they must also be God-directed and God-ordered. ‣ 3. ‣ Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! This last part of Ke$ha’s basic worldview is curious. For more on Epicurus, see Richard W. Hibler. Well, dear thinker-in-italic-fonts, I’ve got news for you: I’m going the opposite way. Here are 113 verses related to Happiness. In An Ideal Husband, Wilde’s character Lord Goring argues that “Pleasure is the only thing to live for. There is no toddler training course on the subject. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”. It’s as if all our lives we’ve been drinking from a rusty fountain on a hot summer day. I meditate on it all day long.”19 These texts show us that we grow happy in God through his Word. Here’s the mystery at the heart of biblical Christianity: You become happy through holiness. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! A Surprising Map Of The World Shows Just How Big China S. Most Chinese Rare Earth Miners Running At A Loss Report Mining . “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 9. It’s peculiar; it may go against much of what you’ve been told; but Christians believe it’s gloriously true. None of us knows what the Lord will lead us to do in this life. Obedience to God is what makes us happy. Jesus’ hunger for joy led him not to an air-conditioned throne but to a bloody cross. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. We go looking for happiness and find not the transcendent God who made us and rules us, but ourselves. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. When the Bible mentions happiness, it is speaking of something that is self-contained. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, ... “Let not your hearts be troubled. The Bible Says Happiness Is Found When You Give Up Your Life for Christ. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. For an account of how all our lives can be driven by joy, see John Piper. Known as “the Beatitudes,” this first section of Matthew, chapter 5 is made up of several statements beginning with the phrase, “Blessed are…” The word “blessed” in this verse really just means happy. You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! The gift of physical enjoyment and pleasure comes from him, not some leering studio executive. A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth. The only way to find happiness is through Him. Some of His ways may seem counterintuitive at first, but the verses that follow demonstrate where true contentment and joy is found—in Him! The Greek word in the New Testament is makarios. What does the Bible say about Happiness? Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Again, the Bible says: “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” Proverbs 16:20. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed McFerrin’s pop song.2 It became a cultural meme. What Does The Bible Say About Happiness? Instead of doubling down on her raw instincts—gossiping, eating gross food, and so on—as Ke$ha does, Rubin seeks to cut them off. You do not have, because you do not ask. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Couldn’t the pop singer have urged her listeners to take up the simple joys of woodcraft, or hop-scotch, or tennis, or stamp-collecting? Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. Here’s what Rubin says about her daily, task-by-task pursuit of happiness: Some things that I’ve worked to stop doing—not that I’ve succeeded, but I’ve made some progress: gossiping, eating fake food (i.e., “food” that comes in crinkly packages from corner delis), nagging, drinking alcohol (I had to face the fact that drinking the tiniest bit of alcohol makes me incredibly belligerent), losing my temper, staying up too late, not flossing, not doing enough to help other people, leaving my clothes strewn around—well, the list goes on and on.11. Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. There is a tension in most of us, however, when it comes to happiness—somewhere between Ke$ha and Rubin. C God doesn’t want us shivering in the corner, frightened but obedient. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. The work of Christ, then, is the engine of our obedience. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Without repentant faith in it, we can’t please God or follow him. Pursuing justice and living generously is what grants us liberation. Christ is the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith,” a phrase that means that his death and resurrection are our salvation. Name * Email * Website. Running till we outta time Whether we seek this feeling through the pounding bass of a 100,000-person dance party, a romantic relationship, a good book, or community service, we must not forget this: We are all pursuing the same thing. What Does The Bible Say About Happiness? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. That’s why he went to the cross. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; ... You desire and do not have, so you murder. He created us! Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! In this clip, Randy shares several scriptures and quotes about… You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. This is used a ton, particularly throughout Psalms and Proverbs. We idolize sex, or money, or discipline, or even happiness itself. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. But many of us feel the pull to an ethically unaccountable, anything-goes way of life in which we gratify the desires of our flesh. In “Die Young,” no higher authority exists or rules over human existence. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. The words for “bless” and “blessed” in both the Old and New Testaments illustrate why this is true. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels. Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. We are made to lose ourselves in a majestic, soul-saving, world-remaking God. WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES: Jesus identified the key to happiness when he said: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need.” (Matthew 5:3) True happiness can be found only if we take steps to fill our greatest need—our hunger for spiritual truth about God and his purpose for us. From our own perspective, we are like the English writer C. S. Lewis, who would periodically feel a desire to go to a fictional land he called “True North,” a place better than any he knew.12 No one had told Lewis he should want to go there; he had an instinctive pull to this mysterious reservoir of pure delight and unfading happiness. Quotes By Genres. On pop radio stations, for example, you hear singers celebrating extreme pleasure-seeking in songs like Ke$ha’s “Die Young”9: Young hearts, out our minds I can do all things through him who strengthens me. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You find these pursuits in different names, but many of us are drawn either to the gratification of our lusts or the moralistic repression of those lusts. Everyone wants to be happy. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. Quite a lot it turns out. Randy Alcorn spoke at his home church, Good Shepherd Community Church, on the topic of happiness. F There’s something innate in many of us that drives us to love sex. . ‣ You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. I Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. Bible verses related to Happiness from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance - Sort By Book Order . And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Nothing ages like happiness.”7 Wilde sharpened the point in A Woman of No Importance, speaking through the character of Lord Illington:  “Moderation is a fatal thing, Lady Hunstanton. D Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. It is almost impossible to overestimate today just how pervasive this argument is in many cultures. This is part positive thinking, part personal therapy, and part moralism. Psalm 16:11. In fact, His most famous sermon, and most likely one of His first, the sermon on the mount, begins with a primer on happiness. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. (That, by the way, is a pop song I want to hear: “Stamp Collecting ‘Til We Die.”). He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. The Bible talks about happiness, but defines it differently than our culture. When the Bible mentions happiness, it is speaking of something that is self-contained. These Bible verses about happiness will remind you that … Why connect dying young to sexual and bodily gratification? We’re always looking for it, whether we know we are or not. Both words are also translated “blessed.” The person who feels blessed is happy. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. True happiness is achieved by resting upon the Lord. L Instead of deifying a social cause, we recognize the Lord as the only reality worth living for. Don’t care whose watching when we tearing it up God knows us better than we know ourselves. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. T The strongest factor in happiness at work is how happy you are away from work. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. But we also feel this odd, hard-to-explain pull toward morality, justice, and even love to others. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. ‣ Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project seeks, essentially, to help us embrace a quieter, more authentic life. V Happiness and Blessing in the Old Testament. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ‣ Knowing God as your Savior is vastly different. Wildchilds looking good Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 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