Happy? But..I have cancer!

    Are you happy?
         

Before you jump to an answer for this age-old question..let me ask something else first:

Are you angry?
Are you sad?
Are you fearful..confused?

Ok, so that last one, maybe you are confused by now? That's Ok..I'll try to fix that, lol :)

Let's start with a definition for happiness:

(According to Merriam-Webster)


Definition of happiness

1obsolete :good fortune :prosperity

• all happiness bechance to thee
•  —William Shakespeare

2a :a state of well-being and contentment :joy

b :a pleasurable or satisfying experience 

• I wish you every happiness in life.

So according to this definition, happiness is a state of  well-being.

contentment, and a pleasurable or satisfying experience.

What this says to me is:

a. It is temporary. Since you will not always find yourself in a state of well-being, nor can one possibly always have pleasurable or satisfying experiences..then happiness is not a static or unchanging state of being..just as angry, sad, fearful..etc..are not permanent states of being..Thank God!

b. Happy cannot be used to define you, or your life..happiness is better defined as a moment, or moments of our life experiences...and not what we are.

c. Happiness is subject to experiences, emotions, a feeling of well-being, and as such it cannot drive the human experience in order to negate any experiences or emotions or other temporary states of being. In other words, it is driven by these things and cannot change the fact that we will indeed suffer periods of fear, anger, discomfort, or other circumstances that would cause us to be anything but happy! It is driven..does not always drive us.

So, what does the Bible have to say about happiness?

Actually, the words for happiness may be: JOY, CHEERFUL, CONTENT, 

*For the sake of this essay, and as far as the above definition is concerned, the word JOY is the best way to describe true Christian happiness, as you shall see below.

Here are only a few of many examples from scripture:

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

 James 5:13

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds

James 1:2

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
 Gal. 5:22-23

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

Phil. 4:4

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Ps. 30:12

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:9-11

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

Ps. 4:6-7

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Ps. 16:11

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1Tim. 6:6-11

1 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Phil.4:11-13

True Christian happiness, or joy!

Ok, so after reading these scriptures, do you see a certain pattern emerging?

Unlike the first definition of happiness, specifically in relation to its dependance on a certain experience or state of well-being, or pleasure..The joy in these scriptures, contentment and even cheerfulness..is NOT dependant on any outward circumstance..This state of being is in a static (non-changing) attitude of happiness and is dependant solely on our relationship, our trust, our rejoicing in THE LORD!

It defies our circumstances!

Blessings & Love,

And always remember,

We are..

~Never Forsaken~

Can You Walk On Water?

Peter walking on water
(Mat.14:22)


Most of us are familiar with the story; Jesus sends His disciples off in a ship while he goes into the mountains to pray; after a while the small ship becomes caught in a storm at sea.  Jesus then appears to them walking upon the surface of the water; as He approaches, the disciples are fearful because they think they are seeing a ghost.  Jesus assures them not to be afraid for it is Him.  Peter, ever the impulsive one, asks Jesus:
"If it is really you, then ask me to come out to you on the water".
(gotta love that Peter)...Peter starts out with great faith, In fact it took a lot of faith to even ask the Lord to call him out in the first place. I can relate to that kind of faith because I have said "Here am I Lord, use me"; but what happens next is truley an amazing display of faith , remember what FAITH is:
 Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.Hebrews 11:1-3 (in Context) Hebrews 11 (Whole Chapter)
When Peter literally steps out in faith he is creating a reality from something not seen and making it evident to all who are witness to it. That is faith in action, that is what is possible through Faith in Jesus.
But what happens next is something that I think we can all relate to unfortunately; Peter takes his focus from Jesus (the goal), and becoming aware of his circumstances, starts to sink; he cries out to Jesus and  immediately is delivered. The Lord's first response was to immediately save Peter from his circumstance; ³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him,    And then He makes this statement: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
So, Why don't we all walk on water? what stands in our way? How much faith do we actually have and use? Jesus said: Matthew 17:20
...  for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 17:19-21 (in Context) Matthew 17 (Whole Chapter)

 Wow! A mustard seed is really really small, so Jesus is saying that if my faith is really really small, I can command a mountain to move, in fact NOTHING will be impossible for me! 
If someone were to ask me how much faith do I have, I may be inclined to say I have a little bit of faith, but if that is true, then no matter my circumstance, nothing is impossible for me as long as I can keep my focus on Jesus and not on the circumstance.  I can, in essence, re-create the reality of what I see & percieve around me, effecting a result according to the will of God in my life.
(because no matter what we want to happen, it is ultimately dependant upon the will of God for us.) 
So, what stands in our way? Doubt. Doubt is the barrier that we build when we take our eyes off of the Lord even for a moment. I believe Jesus exemplified the endless possibilities that we are created to be capable of.
I don't think I've met anyone on earth yet, apart from Jesus, who has actually moved a mountain or walked on water, so I don't think I have met anyone who has any measure of faith who has never doubted.

 ..So, Jesus is asking, Why do you doubt?