So this topic of happiness keeps whirling around in my head and keeps popping up in the things I hear women say. I’m fascinated by how people think and mindsets in general, so when I hear things like,
“He just makes me happy.”
“Food just makes me happy.”
“Working out just does not make me happy.”
“I’m not happy looking like this”
“I’m not happy doing this and feeling deprived”
“I’m not sure I would be happy if I was doing ________.”
“ I just want to be happy and live a happy life.”
“I want to be happy with how I feel and how I look in clothes.”
I can’t help but wonder if the pursuit of happiness is actually making us miserable. I wonder if people aren’t confused by what true happiness means and are instead chasing a fleeting emotional response that can never truly be fulfilled in a fallen world. Healthy choices don’t always make us feel happy, especially when we’ve only known one way for so long and have grown comfortable in that space.
I’ve always heard and said myself that God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness. But when I tell myself and others this the typical response is frustration and anger and a distancing from God because we feel punished.
The truth is, we don’t tend to view holiness as fun.
Well, this morning Hebrews 12 rocked my world. Really rocked it…and I’m absolutely fired up. There are times when God downloads things into me in an instant and I’m so grateful for his teaching moments. They really are like finding hidden treasures. I’ve found that time in his presence alone does this and it requires work and perseverance to protect it. That’s why guarding my peace and managing my soul this last month of 2014 is one of, if not THE top priority in my life at the moment.
Anyways, this morning as I was drinking my hot mandarin orange spark I was lead to verses 10-13:
“But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening-it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.” (NLT)
So there’s that holiness thing again. None of us like breaking away from those things that we THINK make us happy. It can feel painful. But here’s what we all need to realize…Holiness is pure happiness.
True holiness leads us to clean, sinless, unadulterated happiness. When we chase holiness we will eventually experience real happiness as it was intended as a natural by product. In their real forms they are one in the same. I believe our enemy is an expert in offering us up false forms of happiness that we mistake and condition ourselves to believe are the real thing. They’re called idols. And if you read the Bible at all you will find that God doesn’t tolerate them at all. He will tear them out of your life and burn them up and you can guarantee it will be painful…but he does it because of his vast and immeasurable love for us. For our God is a devouring fire (Hebrews 12:29). So the unhealthy relationship that makes you feel so good at times and the plate of brownies or the bottle or two of wine that makes you feel giddy or the perfection your addicted to HE WILL BURN UP.
It’s his heart that none of us should perish even at the expense of our worldly happiness. We have to allow his discipline and allow him to reprogram the desires of our hearts and what makes us “happy”. This is our “training” that’s mentioned in Hebrews 12:11.
He wants our souls to be healthy and the difference between happy and healthy is the choices that we make. Everyday we have a CHOICE to chase and choose the right kind of happiness. HIS happiness.
Know this, the closer we get to a living God the closer we will get to pure holiness/happiness. It will always be what is the healthiest for our bodies, souls, and spirits. We may not always agree and it may be painful at times but we must trust that he is good father and sees things that we cannot see or understand. A harvest of peaceful living awaits us.
Taking a new grip,
Lindsey Nadler
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