Proverbs 16:20 -He who pays attention to the word [of God] will find good, And blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who trusts [confidently] in the lord.
Recently I was watching a football game on television. It was near the end of the game and the two teams called three timeouts consecutively. After each one, the broadcaster went to a commercial break. So I got a chance to see some “insightful” commercials.
The first one advertised a fancy new car a husband bought for his family. Everyone was excited to see it. Even the family dog looked happy.
The next commercial advertised breath mints. The couple looked so happy after taking the
mints you’d think they were about to get married.
The last commercial advertised some new drug targeted towards baby boomers. They showed gray haired people smiling, hiking in the mountains, riding bikes, playing with grandkids, and swimming laps in a pool, all the while telling you the side effects of possible kidney disease, liver damage and depression.
So I concluded that if I wanted to be happy, all I needed was a new expensive car, a breath mint and a new drug. The happy dog and remarrying my wife would be bonuses…assuming I could get past kidney disease, liver damage and depression. :-)
But God tells us in this Proverb, that true joy and contentment are found in Him. More
specifically, in living by His word and trusting in Him, being confident in Him, being secure in Him. This implies a level of personal commitment and dedication to, and relationship with Him. (A superficial relationship won’t do.)
Psalm 11 reinforces this idea that God is the source of our joy. Verse 11 states that there is
“fullness of joy” in His presence. The word “joy” in verse 11 implies “extreme gladness with
laughter”.
So don’t go looking for joy in the wrong places. Just like taking the new drug, you may cure one ailment, but end up with some undesired long term side effects.