December 8
Happy, Happy
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. - Philippians 3:7-9
In testimonies, Christians often talk about what they gave up to follow Jesus Christ. But in reality, what do we really give up? Some people give up addiction to drugs or alcohol, while others give up having hangovers. For most people, they give up a sense of guilt, emptiness, loneliness, and the ever-present fear of death. Thus we could agree with the Apostle Paul, who said,
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. (Philippians 3:7-9)
Paul is saying, "The things I have given up are nothing compared to what God has given to me." This teaching of Paul's is a very important principle to learn. We find happiness in God.
Psalm 119:1 says, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way." The word blessed that is used here and throughout the psalms can be translated as "happy." A more literal rendering of the word blessed, and I really like this translation, would be "happy, happy." So if someone might ask the psalmist, "How are you feeling today?" He might reply, "Happy, happy." But here in this psalm and in other places of Scripture, we find that happiness is always connected to holiness. We also find that happiness is not something that we should seek outright. Happiness should be the result of seeking holiness. Despite what our Declaration of Independence says, the pursuit of happiness in and of itself is generally a futile search. If you desire happiness, then seek the holiness of God. Only then will you be, "happy, happy."
Copyright (c) 2004 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.