HOW TO BE HAPPY
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Opening Prayer
This Sunday, Jesus, I come thanking you for making me a part of your church and for the ministry you have for me in it.
Read PSALM 1
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Tell God all that is in your heart’ (François Fénelon, 1651–1715). The Psalms give us permission to bring ourselves, ‘warts and all,’ to God in prayer. Take a moment to pour out your heart’s contents to God.A wise man once wrote that if you want to be happy, don’t pursue happiness: stop doing the things that make you unhappy! This psalm starts with the word ‘blessed,’ which has the meaning of ‘happy.’ ‘Happy is the one who stops doing the things that lead to unhappi- ness!’ (vv. 1–3).
Keeping in step with, or standing in line with, the values of a secular culture (v. 1) is not the route to happiness, it seems. Rather, happiness is found in a life ordered by God’s wisdom, as revealed in the Bible (v. 2). God’s Word needs to be given a high priority in the life of the one seeking true happiness (v. 2). It’s easy to fall in step with the world: it takes discipline to stay rooted in God.
The psalm offers a contrast between the impermanence of cultural fads (‘the way that sinners take’, v. 1) and the enduring value of God’s Word. The former, like chaff, is likely to disappear when the next wind of change blows through (v. 4); the latter is permanently and power- fully potent (vv. 3, 6)!
Apply
Where are you seeking happiness? Are there ways in which you’ve bought into contemporary culture’s quest for happiness?
Closing prayer
Father, thank you for the blessing that is mine as I invest in your Word and find happiness that only you can give.
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