HAPPY NEW

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. I Peter 1:8,9 NIV

Everybody wants to be happy, but the world offers only counterfeit happiness, temporary and ultimately disappointing. And the thing is, after life disappoints us too many times, happiness drifts a little farther out of reach, hope gets a little harder to hold onto. The harder it gets to hold onto, the faster we chase the next sure thing, and the next, and the next. But happiness, the butterfly riding on the back of that sure thing, flies away and lands on some other sure thing.

Ever try to catch a butterfly?

Our God Jesus offers real life, real hope, real joy.

The most attractive thing about Christians isn’t what we say and do. Joy is the magnet that attracts us to the God whose image we bear. And the joy with which we live our abundant lives in Him, the peace and hope that shine out through that joy, attracts our neighbors, near and far, to Him.

Happy New Year. Happy new life abundant in Jesus!

My resolution, my only one, is to live this moment—all of it—in our happy God, and enjoy Him.

You hold all the sorrows of the world in Your own heart, Avi, but You still have unspeakable joy. I’ve never seen You; when You sing over me, I don’t hear Your songs—but I feel the peace of resting in Your arms. You’re the God who is there, always and unchanging. when the world drags me down, remind me of Your joy. When life gets too heavy, remind me that You’ll carry my load and me, too. Remind me that you hold my life in your hand, and that you give life abundant, joy abundant, just for the asking, for the accepting. Help me to rest in You, Avi, until You come for me and we leave all my burdens behind here. In Your holy name, Amen.