Happy in God

Over the last 5 years I have experienced some ups and downs when as I have preached here in Iowa.  My first weekend here in Iowa we were hit with a rather nasty blizzard.  While it was nowhere near as bad as what the NE has experienced over the last month, it was enough to cause us to be snowed in at a hotel for several days.  We had to wait until the roads cleared enough that I could actually get to our new home, unbury the moving truck that was dropped off in the middle of the blizzard and finally dig my new home out so that we could unload the truck.  It was such a trying week that my body was physically spent when I finished.  The following Sunday I passed out in the pulpit.  (It was not a good first impression).  Since then, I have bought a home.  My wife gave birth to our 4th child.  We lost our 5th before the little tie breaker was born earlier this year.  We have experienced some very mild winters and we have experienced some very bad ones.  I have had to say goodbye to people I love and I have made some new friends along the way.

But, perhaps the most important lesson I have learned living here in Iowa is the lessons I have learned regarding contentment.  Believe you and me, I could find every reason to be unhappy and unsatisfied with life.  Before I moved here I didn’t know if I wanted to preach anymore.  I had moved on average every 2 years since i started preaching.  I grew up in a very close family and I vowed to never be away for very long.  (I rarely see my family (parents, siblings, grandparents, etc) today and I do dearly miss them).  I lost a baby.  It still breaks my heart when I talk about it as I had too the past couple of weeks as I saw friends that hadn’t seen me in years and had heard of our loss.  I could allow those things to keep me from being happy.

Of course, we usually say things like a person who is said just needs to change their perspective.  I have even caught myself doing it from time to time.  Count your blessings I would say.  Name them one by one.  Bow your head.  Praise God for everyone of your blessings.  But, there is a real danger in allowing the temporal things of this world to be the basis for your happiness.  For instance, what if I say  I am happy because I have a good job?  Would I cease to be happy if I lost that good job?  What if I say I am happy because I have 4 beautiful children?  Possessions?  The world’s goods?  What if I, like Job, lost everything in a single day?  Would I cease to be happy?

Sure, I wouldn’t be dancing in the streets.  I would morn my losses.  But, I cannot allow my faith, my love for God, and my joy to be forever removed.  Happiness is not to be based upon external things that are here today and gone tomorrow.  Real happiness, real joy needs to be found in a relationship with God.

When Paul said, Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice.  He wasn’t saying rejoice when things fall apart.  There is a time for morning.  He was saying, let you joy always be found in God.  Let him be the basis for your happiness.