Hello Ren Family!
It’s been a while since I’ve written. Perhaps I’m feeling some writing fatigue. I’ve written so much in 2021: sermons, newsletters, 100 daily devotionals, 34 mission letters, and thousands of emails and texts. This doesn’t include my almost daily habit of writing prayers and reflections each morning for several hours. Good thing I enjoy writing!
As we come in for a landing at the end of 2021, many of us are feeling a sense of spiritual and physical exhaustion. My guess is that very few of us are feeling the magic and wonder of the Christmas season. I’m not talking about the unrealistic recapturing of feelings we felt as children at Christmas. I’m just talking about ordinary happiness as Christians. Each of us is carrying sorrows. We’ve lost loved ones, we’ve lost jobs, we’ve suffered anxiety and depression, we’ve felt the darkness of isolation, we’ve experienced loneliness. Some have even been diagnosed with cancer or other serious physical conditions. I think of my dear wife having multiple gallbladder attacks. It’s been a hard year for many of us. People have left the church. Some have fallen hard into sin. We’ve had friends overdose and die. Christians are polarized over politics and race. Many pastors have left their churches, and many churches have closed their doors. Add to this the constant stream of disturbing news about the global refugee crisis, global warming, economic instability, wars, shootings, genocide, and 1000 other things—it’s all hard to bear. No wonder we struggle to feel Christmas cheer!
Sometimes we feel guilty just wanting to feel happy. But we all have an innate desire for happiness. It’s not God’s will for us to be miserable. He wants us to experience joy and abundant life. In Psalm 42 David complains, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” It’s as if he knows that being downcast is part of the fallen condition. He is longing to find hope and joy in God. If you are aching to just feel happy this Christmas, you are simply acting like a human. We are designed to be happy. It’s okay to want to be happy. God wants us to be happy.
The reason why happiness eludes us is perhaps that we search for it in the wrong places. I’ll spare you the list of things we look to for happiness—even though I love lists. Like Charlie Brown hoping that Lucy won’t pull back the football and send him flying on his face humiliated, hoping that this time will be different, hoping this time he’ll punt the ball into the sky and feel the thrill of athletic accomplishment—so we, put our hope of happiness in something (or someone) that can’t deliver.
The reason why we slump through life, and get especially downcast at Christmas, is this: We ignore the path to joy that the Lord has marked out for us.
It’s almost as if we don’t trust that God (Father) knows best. We insist that we know what we need to attain happiness. You’d think that after we’ve been disappointed over and over by the things we hoped would make us happy that, well, we’d learn. But we keep going back to muddy waters; like a dog, we return to our vomit. Lord, have mercy!
What is the path of happiness? Happiness comes to us when we place our trust in Christ and set our focus on Him. It comes when we align our lives with His commands. There’s no other way. Oh, there are people who claim to be happy who want nothing to do with Christ. They may have found a measure of contentment in earthly things. But, deep soul satisfaction can only be found in God. True happiness isn’t the attainment of things. It’s knowing that it is well with your soul; it’s experiencing intimacy with God; it’s having a clear conscience; it’s being in the center of God’s purpose for our lives. These things alone bring happiness from the inside out, a happiness not dependent on circumstances.
If you are struggling to be happy this Christmas season, here’s my advice: Look to Jesus. Maybe that sounds simple, but it’s the path to happiness. Don’t focus on all the negative news or all the earthy things you don’t yet have. Focus on the loveliness of God. Draw near to Him. In His presence is fullness of joy. Slow down. Be still. Set your gaze upon the glory of God. This world in its present state is passing away. This world is not our home. Christ is our home. Find refuge in Him.
I’m not suggesting that you need to pray for an hour or read the Bible all day. I know, I know—you are busy! Some of us feel guilty even thinking about praying and reading the Bible. Like, if working out on the treadmill is something you hate doing but feel you should do, you think of prayer and Bible reading the same way. If I was a fitness trainer I’d tell you to ditch the treadmill and find an enjoyable physical activity. Why choose something that’s not fun? In the same way, make your time in God’s presence enjoyable.
What do I mean exactly? Well, if waking up at 5am, getting on your knees, and praying out loud for an hour, is torture—then don’t do it. If you hate reading, and especially find the Bible boring to read—then don’t do it. There’s nothing technically sacred about these disciplines. In fact, many Christians around the globe can’t read. The Bible doesn’t say, “Read the Bible”, but rather, it says, “Let the Word of God dwell richly within you.” The Bible doesn’t command us to pray early in the morning out loud on our knees for an hour, but rather, encourages us to “pray without ceasing” and “set our minds on things above” and “be devoted to prayer.”
My point is to talk with God and reflect on His Word in ways that you find enjoyable. I’m convinced the devil himself tries to get us to believe that if we want to be close to God we must undergo unenjoyable spiritual habits. He’s a liar! Find ways of talking to God that are enjoyable. Do it while you walk or drive. Listen to music and let the lyrics spark prayers. Write prayers in a notebook. Go find the glory of God in nature. Play an instrument and sing your thoughts to God. Listen to a thought-provoking podcast or sermon to muse on the Word. Listen to the audio Bible. Read a verse and write about it. Read a good commentary or spiritual book. Read an article. What are the most enjoyable ways that you connect with God and think on the Scriptures? Do those things! And the God of happiness will fill your heart and mind.
— Scott A