GOD'S INTENTION ABOUT YOU

For you shall eat the labor of your hands: happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you" (Psalms 128:2). 

God wants you to be happy. He wants to fill your heart with gladness (Acts 14:17). He wants it to be well with you. He wants you to eat the fruits of your labour so that you can spend your days in prosperity and your years in pleasures. That is why the Word says God wishes above all things that you prosper and be in health just as your soul prospers (3 John 2). That is why God has made provisions for us to receive all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Our heavenly Father is a good God who wants the best for His children. 

We should have no doubt about these intentions of God towards us because the indicators are all over in His word. For example, the Bible encourages us, "Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart" (Psalms 32:11). Again it tells us emphatically, "Rejoice evermore" (1 Thessalonians 5:16). This exhortation to continually rejoice and be glad is repeated in so many places in the Scriptures because God does not want you to waste your time and emotions in sorrow and sadness. He wants to ensure that you miss no moment of happiness. 

It is to this end also that God sent to us His own Son, Jesus Christ into the world. Recall that when Jesus was born, the angel who announced His birth to the shepherds said that he brought unto them, "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10). No wonder there is joy everywhere He is preached. It is said that Christian communities are the most peaceful in the world. Jesus assures us that in Him we shall have peace and joy. To this, I can personally testify, just as several other millions of people around the world and across many generations. Friends, you can kickstart a life of peace and joy by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. 

What more does the Lord require of us in order to access the provision He has made for our happiness? The first thing God asks of us is to fear Him. The opening verse of our passage for today says, "Blessed is every one that fears the LORD; that walks in his ways". Indeed, the happiness spoken of in our Scripture verse for meditation is the direct result of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord leads to life: and he that has it shall abide satisfied and happy. Such shall not be visited with evil (Proverbs 19:23). 

Secondly, we must obey His commandments if we will experience His joy. Those who fear the Lord obey His commands. Obedience is ever the constant commitment of winners. It is the indisputable prerequisite for the blessings of God (Job 36:11). Thirdly and finally, those who will be happy in God must believe and trust in Him. Blessed, happy, fortunate and to be envied are those who put their trust in God. I join Paul, the apostle to pray for you, "May God, who inspires our hope, grant you perfect happiness and peace in your faith, till you are filled with this hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13, 20th Century New Testament Version).