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March 2 Daily Devotional

Are You Happy?

Peter G. Feenstra

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (Ps. 1:1)

Bible Reading

Psalm 1

Devotional

Are you happy? Your answer to that question may depend on your personal circumstances. Sometimes you may be feeling pretty chipper, other times not. Maybe you had a run-in with a family member so that you are not feeling very happy at all right now. Perhaps your marriage relationship is tense. You may feel that you have been robbed of all joy because of problems in your home with your children. Maybe you are unhappy because you don’t have friends; you are lonely or feel you are being bullied by others. Perhaps a lack of energy is dragging you down, or you are grieving the passing away of a loved one.

Teenagers may wonder, sometimes out loud, whether Christians can be happy. They observe people in society who seem to be having all sorts of fun, whereas the Christian faith appears to restrict you. You can’t always get what you want or do as you please.

Psalm 1 answers these concerns for us. Our happiness does not hinge or depend on our situation or predicament. If we seek joy in the things we experience we will never be very happy. In Psalm 1, however, the Lord declares all those happy who go in the way of the righteous. This psalm is placed intentionally at the beginning of the Hebrew Psalter. It sets the tone for the entire collection of psalms. This psalm invites us to read and use the entire book as a guide to a happy life.

The first verse of this psalm begins with the word blessed. Blessed means to be supremely happy and fulfilled. The psalmist starts from the premise that a Christian can be extremely happy. But what is true happiness? Happiness, in our society, is often associated with getting what you want. Yet here the psalmist shows us that true happiness is attained not by getting what we want, but by being in a living relationship with the Lord. God declares the righteous happy without even examining their circumstances, because when they stay close to Him they can have a very rich and fulfilled life. Our righteousness is in Jesus Christ. That means true happiness is not found in what we have earned but in what has been obtained for us. Christ’s atoning work as the Man of Sorrows allows us to have unending happiness!

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