How To Be Happy
1 Praise the LORD. [a]
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.
Reflection of Bee:
When I set my goal (not resolution) early this year, similar to the Ten Rules for Happier Living found in tonight's devotion, I seemed to be happier. For my goal is to be "a channel of God's peace", borrowing the prayer below:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;Yes, I am seeing things happening in my work place. My relationship with my colleagues improves. I find myself having many opportunities to share God's love with others. I feel better when I focus my attention on others rather than on myself and my loss.
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
- attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
Dear Lord,
Thank You for making me a channel of blessing, especially today. I pray that Your words which I shared with this particular brother-in-Christ will not return to You void. I pray that he will be stronger spiritually and physically after a good rest tonight. I pray that Your peace and rest will be in his heart. Guide him in his path, let him follow and trust in You.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
Reflection of Tommy:
True, lasting happiness begins with a right relationship with God. This relationship helps us to trust God for all our needs, appreciating His character, taking our minds off our problems and focuses them on Him and changing our perspective from the temporal and earthly to the heavenly and eternal.
Dear Father, I praise and thank You that Your help is lasting and complete, that I can have the full confidence and trust in You for all my needs. Thank You for teaching me to ‘leave’ all my burden for Christ to manage and begin living a life in obedience. Lord, continue to guide me to pray to know Your way for me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
