Happiness is a state of having, expressing or enjoying pleasure or contentment. It is also being pleased with the circumstances surrounding you. Some people bring unhappiness on themselves by making the wrong choices in life. Lasting and true happiness can be developed only through obedience to God’s Word, by accepting Jesus’ Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour.

Once you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and you have an intimate relationship with Him, you will enjoy true happiness. Religion does not produce true happiness; but relationship with the Saviour does. The principles and absolutes from the bible will bring us lasting happiness, joy and satisfaction.

The Word of God tells us in Proverbs 10:2, “Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.”  Sometimes, we may be spending too much of our valuable time on things that will bring no lasting happiness. This can bring on feelings of unhappiness, which do not help us in any way. All these things do not matter and they do not add value to our spiritual life.

The bible tells us in Proverbs 15:13, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” There are many people in the world, who are also down and, sometimes, we cannot change someone’s feelings or outlook of life. But we, as children of God, can do a lot to help someone who is sad. We can do this, simply, by listening, paying a visit and demonstrating the love of Christ. By doing this, we can cheer those who are unhappy or upset.

King Solomon wrote about his life in Ecclesiastes 1:14, “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” He discovered that wealth, power, position, wives and accomplishments did not make him happy at all. Solomon continued by saying, “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:11

Solomon was a truly rich man but he concluded that it was all vanity, all useless, and there was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. He tried it all and yet could not find any satisfaction in life. He possessed everything a person could ever want but He did not put God first in his life. He decided to pursue happiness, apart from God. By the end of all his pursuits, he was empty; he had no happiness and no joy. This was all meaningless!

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

In the pursuit of happiness, apart from God, Solomon had aimless wanderings and fruitless searching for satisfaction. If you have a reverential fear of God, obey Him and make room for Him in all you do, you will find meaning in your life. Seeking the material goods of this world only multiplies troubles and they bring no satisfaction either.

But seeking God and doing His will has a reward of true happiness and joy. Happiness is an elusive goal because people and circumstances change quickly. But when you please God, you will enjoy true and lasting happiness. You can receive and enjoy true and lasting happiness through a right relationship with God.

If you are chasing after happiness, you will never catch it but if you are seeking after God, you will find endless joy. Riches and worldly goods do not give happiness and it is much better to find true happiness in Jesus Christ than depending on riches. Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Jesus then went on to tell His disciples about the parable of the rich fool, who was not rich toward God. We have to get over the illusion that more stuff means more peace, happiness and self-fulfilment. Then we will be able to find the longed-for peace and happiness, which is the true good life that only Jesus can provide.

The good life is found in the richness of God. Lasting satisfaction does not come from possessing tangible things like savings accounts and material goods. These things can suddenly lose value and we would be disappointed if we depended on them. We can definitely find true happiness and satisfaction from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We should not put our trust in possessions but in Jesus Christ, as He can give us joy unspeakable.

God’s Word tells us in Ecclesiastes 2:26, “To the man who pleases God, HE gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” So we can see that there is no joy in chasing after the wind!

Child of God, if you make Jesus Christ your true foundation and stand on HIM, you will definitely find true and lasting happiness. His Face will shine upon you and everlasting joy will be yours.  PEACE

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

Another example of excellent spirit is Daniel, who was a man of absolute integrity and he had the finest kind of strength. He had great faith; and his attitude and exceptional qualities distinguished him above all people around him. The bible says in Daniel 6:3, “Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom”.

The administrators tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel but they could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy. “Finally, these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it had something to do with the law of his God”. Daniel 6:5

So the administrators went to King Darius and asked him to issue an edict. They enforced a decree that anyone found praying to any god or man except to the king within thirty days, he should be thrown into the lions’ den. But Daniel refused to pay any attention to this decree because he would not compromise his faith.

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree” Daniel 6:10-12a

So the administrators reported Daniel to the king and he ordered that Daniel should be thrown into the lions’ den. A stone was placed over the lions’ den and the king sealed it with his signet ring. But the king could not sleep all night! When Daniel was in the lions’ den, God sent His angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. The king was the first to get up at dawn and he hurried up to the lions’ den to see what had become of Daniel.

The king was overjoyed that the lions did not attack Daniel, and no wound was found on him. He gave orders that Daniel be lifted out of the den. He also gave orders for those who had falsely accused him to be thrown into the den, along with their wives and children. He issued a decree that in every part of his kingdom, people must fear the God of Daniel.

So Daniel prospered during the reign of king Darius, because he had an excellent spirit. Daniel’s life proves that a person with an excellent spirit is a powerful instrument in the hands of God. To be a man or woman of integrity is not easy but it is better not to compromise your faith. People of integrity are often misunderstood and falsely accused but God always shows up for them.

In our Christian walk, we should strive to be Christ-like in everything we do. It is impossible to please God without faith and when you compromise your faith, you do not please Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ did all things with the spirit of excellence. Even when He was going through floggings and crucifixion on the cross because of us, He did not complain. He wanted His Father’s will to be done. He was determined to please His heavenly Father.

Child of God, I encourage you to do all things with an excellent spirit, whether in your place of work, home, ministry and community. As you do this, you honour God and not man. Strive to serve well,  gain an excellent standing and great assurance in your faith in Christ Jesus.     PEACE

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

One of the most important things you can do is to be determined to depend totally on God. If you rely on Him for everything, He can never let you down. Total dependency on God is putting your total weight on Him. Also, if you do not quit depending on Him, you can never lose.

Man can disappoint you anytime; hence it is not advisable to rely on man. Your help comes from the Lord alone and not from anyone else. Our God, who is the maker of Heaven and earth, is the only one who can help you without any disappointment. He will never let your foot slip as He does not sleep nor slumber.

He watches over you and all that concerns you, both day and night. He will not let the sun harm you by day nor the moon by night. He will keep you from all harm and watch over your life, if you rely on Him alone. As you go out and come in, He is there to keep an eye on you. Man cannot do all these for you; so why depend on man?

If you call on God in your distress, He will answer you and come to your rescue. He will be with you in the time of trouble and He will deliver you. The Lord will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. He will not let any harm befall you and no disaster will come near your household.

The Psalmist says, “Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. Psalm 72:18-19

Child of God, let your salvation and your honour depend totally on God, as He is your mighty rock and your refuge. He is a strong and loving God and He will reward you according to the level of your dependability on Him.

In all that you do, I encourage to strive to please God and not man. Be a God-pleaser and not a man-pleaser! Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “The One who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him”. John 8:29.

Apostle Paul decided to please God and depend on Him alone and not man. If he had pleased man, he would not have become an Apostle and would not have fulfilled his destiny. You can only please God by faith, because it is totally impossible to please Him without faith.

God should always take the glory in your life and do not allow man to steal God’s glory as all glory belongs to HIM alone. Fear no man but let the reverential fear of God be in your heart because He is the Almighty God. He takes pleasure in your total dependability on Him.

If you set the Lord always before you, you will not be shaken. He will “make your feet like the feet of a deer and He will enable you to stand on the heights”, Psalm 18:33. I encourage you to be Christ-like and depend on our Heavenly Father for everything. You will never regret it because He is not a man.  PEACE!

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)