People look for happiness in wealth, relationships, material possessions, careers… Or in feelings that come from daredevil stunts, drugs, sex, alcohol, you name it… But everything is temporary and nothing lasts. If it all comes and goes, does your happiness depend on whether you have or don’t have those things? What would it take for you to feel truly happy no matter what happened? Whether you have any of those things or not? Today, somebody asked me a tough question. I know the answer, but it’s hard to explain and summarize in a satisfactory way. He asked, “Why are you so happy?” I said, “Because of God.” He said, “Why?” and I said “Because he gives me everything I need.” “Why?” “Because He’s God and He made everything.” “Are you sure about that?” He asked if I had any doubts, and I said no. It’s true, I don’t. However, that wasn’t always the case.
In the past I did have some doubts, but God cleared them away. He can do that for you too. If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. Each person’s journey is different, but God will answer a sincere heart. Anyway, I was left pondering and wondering if he believes and if so whether he has any doubts himself? Perhaps he’s an atheist? I don’t know, but I wish I could share what I have with people without seeming to be trite or superficial. It’s not like when somebody asks why and you don’t know and all you can come up with is “because I say so!” No. I have no doubt because I know God’s love. I can smile and laugh because He filled the void I didn’t know I’d had. People can let you down, but God is there through the thick and thin. Doesn’t that sound like something you could stick on a greeting card? A bit saccharine, but it’s true. God actually loves us and I myself was surprised to discover that. I won’t go into my whole testimony here (you can go to the “About Me” tab for that), but let’s just say that before I was “looking for love in all the wrong places” and “searching” without truly knowing that I would never find it there. I made the mistake billions make, and yet each of us has to discover it for themselves. If you have children, don’t you wish they could avoid some of the mistakes that you made in your youth? But somehow each generation doesn’t seem to listen to the older and wiser and goes right ahead into the same traps we warned them to watch out for. We all think we’re unique, and yet there is really nothing new under the sun. I am forever and eternally grateful to God for showing me His love. I just don’t know how I can convey that to people. I think of the song that says, “if you could only see the way she loves me, then maybe you would understand…” But you don’t see God’s love, just the effect. We weren’t there when Jesus died on the cross for us. To many, those are just hollow words without meaning. Stick a stranger’s name on there and that’s where concepts like the “flying spaghetti monster” come from, which is understandable enough. Before, I had the head knowledge but the words just didn’t hit my heart like they do now. I did not know until I experienced it for myself, but the Holy Spirit still acts. Believers can feel God’s love through his Holy Spirit and we can show it through our behavior, but you won’t see literal love like you can’t see the wind. If anything, the wind blows things around like the love of God compels us and pushes us to do what we ourselves could not do alone. People probably think I’m just a happy-go-lucky and naïve girl to be smiling so much, but you never know when your smile might be the one to help bring some sunshine into a person’s life. So many people are suffering, lonely, or exhausted with life. I was and I can’t just sit by and ignore the pain of others. I don’t pity these people, I empathize. I was there and really, in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing compared to the life stories and struggles of other people. Don’t be so quick to judge others. Even the ones that seem happy on the outside may be dying on the inside. You don’t know what people have been through. Life in this broken world can literally be “hell on earth” for some people and that’s not even close to the real “lake of fire” hell. Why go around adding to the darkness when you can be a light to draw some people out of that pit? A little compassion and kindness can go a long way. Ask what you can do for people and be there for them in their time of need. It’s not always easy, especially when all you get are scoffs, scowls, or even pure hatred… But Jesus said to take up your cross and follow Him. Sometimes we’ll laugh, sometimes we’ll cry, but there truly is a peace that only Jesus can bring. Through any trial or storm, even through tears, I’ll still have reason to smile and thank the Lord. I love Him and He’s the reason I’m happy. Maybe you think that’s weak, and if so, I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s true that God is close to the brokenhearted. I was weak, but God works miracles and now He is most definitely my joy and my strength. My rock, my redeemer, my savior, my everything. From the mouth pours forth the abundance of the heart. Are you spewing forth darkness? Or are you sharing love and hope with people? The Bible’s not a bunch of optimistic fairy tales, but a factual reality. It takes real faith to think that everything evolved with so much increasing evidence against Darwin’s theory and to believe that life came from nothing but a random explosion of particles in the Big Bang. Abiogenesis just doesn’t happen (maggots don’t come from the air but from fly eggs) and no species ever changes or has changed into another. Felines don’t produce canines, just variations of traits that result in different breeds due to both natural (in the wild) and artificial (human domesticated) selection. Are you sure about what you believe? I don’t have all the answers, and some things I don’t think we’ll know in this life, but God’s already given us many answers to our questions if we look without bias or prejudice. I had faith before, but now my faith is backed by more experience, knowledge, and evidence than ever before and is much stronger because I wasn’t afraid to seek out the answers. Question what you think you know and be humble enough to acknowledge that you may not currently have all the answers. God will meet you where you’re at. Just knock, seek, and ask. The truth will set you free and only then can you find true happiness that won’t come and go with the tides of life. Peace in the midst of trials. God loves even the worst sinner, and we all sin and fall short. In spite of yourself, through nothing you’ve done, regardless of how far away from God you think you are, He loves you. He never said there’d be no trials, but that one day there would be no more pain and no more tears for them that abide in Him. Through rising tides and storms, He is our hope and joy. Everything that is good comes from God. Please consider seeking Him that made you. Another song comes to mind, this time not a secular one, but one that basically says I could wish you anything in the world, “but I wish you Jesus.” With much love, while you can, please seek Jesus <3 Comments are closed.
|
DisclaimerWhile I love open discussions, not all internet users are kind. I'd like to build people up, not have others cut people down. Therefore, no comments, but feel free to email me if there's something you'd like to share with me. Archives
July 2020
Categories |