God's Glory Church

When we sincerely seek God, answers, clear direction, revelation and understanding of how to act in all life circumstances come into our lives. The Lord promises in His Word: if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. Instead, relying only on your own strength, finances or health is a direct road to disappointment. The problem is not that the Creator changes, but that we tend to fix our hopes on flimsy earthly things.

The Lord created each new day for our joy, and His joy should accompany us constantly, regardless of external circumstances or calendar holidays, because He has everything under His absolute control.

What is true happiness?

We often use the word “happiness” as a household wish at weddings or birthdays, but everyone puts their own personal meaning into it. For someone, it is the health of loved ones and the absence of war, for someone – material wealth, and for a five-year-old child – the opportunity to play on the phone in an empty room all day. However, the Bible clearly sets priorities: Anna found happiness in motherhood, Solomon – in God’s wisdom, Daniel – in faithfulness to prayer, and the apostle Paul asked only for what was necessary to thank God every day.

True, long-lasting happiness cannot be found if there is no God in life, the only source that fills a person. The road to it is opened in detail on the pages of the Holy Scriptures, and the person who finds this Word and keeps it firmly in his heart becomes happy.

“…blessed are those who listen to God’s Word and keep it!” (From Luke 11:28)

If the Bible remains closed due to domestic employment or work in the gardens, a person loses his orientation and begins to feel unhappy, even attending church. The Creator is able to radically change the character and life of everyone, just as in nature an inconspicuous caterpillar turns into a butterfly, coal becomes a diamond, and an ordinary grain of sand inside a shell becomes a precious pearl. It is only necessary to seek first of all God’s Kingdom and His truth, and everything else will surely be added.

Earthly riches, expensive houses and high fences do not guarantee inner peace. There are wealthy families where behind the facade of success hides domestic violence and deep mental anguish, which sometimes leads to terrible family tragedies. Happiness is not sold in supermarkets, and it cannot be replaced by surrogates. Even during the most severe losses in life, which can tear the soul to pieces, the only effective support becomes the living God, whose word always has the power to be fulfilled.

What does it really mean to be “poor in spirit”?

In the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the 5th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addressed two categories of people at the same time: His closest disciples and the great crowd. The disciples expected to hear about quick material well-being and the promised land, and people from the crowd, tired of slavery and diseases, rejoiced at the very first word “blessed” (that is, “happy”). However, Christ surprised everyone by adding: “blessed are the poor in spirit.”

To be poor in spirit is to feel an acute, vital need for God, similar to a lack of oxygen. When a person lacks spiritual oxygen, he tries to quench his thirst with temporary earthly things, which only harms him. True happiness comes when we fully cling to the Lord, realizing our spiritual poverty without Him.

The main enemies of human happiness

True joy has serious enemies that people often get used to living with for years:

• Insult: It is a deadly poison to the soul. When we hold grudges, run internal dialogues in our heads, and plot revenge, we are voluntarily depriving ourselves of happiness. It is like a bag full of rotten potatoes, which a person is forced to carry with him everywhere – to the store, to the toilet and put next to the bed; she stinks and torments her master. The only way out is sincere forgiveness. Our back does not have ears for gossip, but God hears them, to whom it is worth entrusting the consideration of all wrongs.
• Pride: The self-centered belief that “I know and can do everything myself” completely closes the way to spiritual healing. A person who considers himself completely healthy will never go to the doctor. In the same way, spiritual pride prevents us from coming to God. Superficial quoting of religious phrases without real fulfillment of God’s commandments does not bring salvation and only exhausts the human soul.

“Know the truth, and the truth will set you free!” (From John 8:32)

Freedom from material attachments (for example, the inability to let go of a house left behind by war) also restores joy to a person, because the real value is that you are among God’s family, where you are prayed for and supported. True happiness is found in service to others – when, despite fatigue and abandoned household chores, you feel a deep inner satisfaction from the fact that you were able to help at least one soul to know the Creator.

Material wealth vs Spiritual wealth

Money in itself is not a sin, and the desire to have a full wallet is natural for a person. However, it is important to understand the difference between accumulating and being able to sow into God’s Kingdom. There is a well-known instructive story about a dying millionaire who commanded the most prominent doctors in the world to carry his coffin, sprinkle the road with gold and leave his hands hanging outside. With this, he wanted to prove three truths to humanity: no doctor can cure death, no gold can redeem human life, and in the next life a person leaves with completely empty hands.

True wealth is being able to sacrificially help others, feed hungry children, and support the church even in times of terminal illness. We must make ourselves happy in God, because we are the only people with whom we will spend our entire earthly life from beginning to end.

“Blessed is the man who made God his stronghold, and did not turn to the proud and to those who incline to falsehood!” (Psalm 40:5 / according to the Ukrainian translation of Ohienka Psalm 39:5)

Happiness comes quietly and imperceptibly – in waking up in the morning, in fresh bread on the table, in a child’s cry and even in the need to go to several jobs, because it means that you have strength and someone to live for.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“Take comfort in the Lord, and He will fulfill the desires of your heart! Commit your way to the Lord, and put your hope in Him, and He will do…” (Psalm 37:4-5 / according to the Ukrainian translation of Ohienka Psalm 36:4-5)

When we make the Lord our chief luxury and wealth, He closes our heart from every heavenly spirit of malice that tries to steal our inner joy. We only have to guard His presence as the most precious treasure, sincerely repent of hidden sins, forgive offenders and walk confidently into eternity.