Building a foundation requires a great deal of effort and money, and it takes considerable time. Yet even here, faith is tested. One person keeps building and begins to look more deeply into the matter; thirst awakens, faith comes, and the soul undergoes a test of loyalty to the chosen path. Another grows weary, abandons everything, dismisses every discovery as empty talk, and returns to familiar pursuits. Do not rush into life-changing decisions or abandon the plow you have taken hold of. Dare to be happy.
Let us consider the life of the happiest person. Do not be troubled by the word ‘happiest.’
How does a happy person live? How can we discover what he breathes, what he feels, and what he dreams about?
I think we must find the happiest person in the world and ask him these questions. If he has enough courage, perhaps he will answer you, trying to put his experiences into words. That is not always easy, but I will try. The hardest part is being brief and concise.
I have decided that I am the happiest person in the world. That is a very good decision, especially when it has a solid foundation. Of course, such words may sound presumptuous to some people, but I have abundant evidence within myself. I simply gather it all together and see that it is true. If I were to say that I am unhappy, I would be a liar, and that would be a sin.
All the powers of Heaven took part in building my happiness, and the Creator Himself laid His hand upon my mind to write His laws upon it and place them within my thoughts and feelings.
I always have a vivid comparison before me: before and after. I have the results of a thorough analysis and examination of the events and changes that have taken place in my life.
When I compare all of this with God’s will for me as revealed in the Bible, I see many of the Most High’s plans being fulfilled in my mind.
It is written that God grants the rebellious the disposition of the righteous, and I see that this has been fulfilled in me. My thoughts now dwell on what is holy, pure, true, and joyful.
God promised that Jesus would save His people from their sins. This has been fulfilled in my life as well.
As I read the message to Laodicea, I heard the declaration that I was wretched, along with counsel on how to leave that condition behind. I accepted the Lord’s counsel, and now I live in a completely different dimension.
I am happy! I have a Friend named Jesus, and He is the best Friend of all.
Christ’s presence on my journey fills all my plans, my work, and my life with special meaning. It is not I, but He in me, Who performs good works while also respecting my choice. I am in Him, and He is in me. This is a deeply joyful union.
I have become calmer. I have learned to cast both my own cares and the cares and problems of others upon Him immediately, for He cares for us. When Jesus carries everything in His hands, it does not burden my soul; instead, it gives me joy as I deal with everyday matters and strength as I fulfill my responsibilities.
I look at my life with gladness. It brings me joy when all my plans rest within God’s will.
I have learned to be happy regardless of circumstances, outward factors, worldwide problems, and the disasters around me. Human malice from those close to me sometimes discourages me and knocks me off balance, but then a protective response immediately engages: my decision to love goes into action, and peace enters my heart as I recognize yet another victory of love. Joy comes with it.
Living each day within the streams of God’s love and blessings, I decide to be happy, and this becomes a reality in my thoughts and feelings.
As I studied how happiness works, I discovered God’s laws and commandments of blessedness and learned to submit to them and put them into practice. It turns out that being happy is so simple when Jesus lives in the heart and teaches me from within.
The school of love and happiness leads through sorrow, through the fire of trials, through the deep waters of human passions, and through storms of enticement and temptation. Yet nothing harms or destroys me, because my Teacher permits only what I have the strength to overcome and endure. He teaches me how to respond properly to each trial and how to gain the victory.
The love of Christ, given to me in response to my earnest request and according to His will, is the key to solving every problem and the assurance of victory in every battle.
As I journey through life, I choose love and happiness, and I live in them. How wonderful it is to be happy, to love in every situation, and to be meek and obedient to God.
Sometimes I realize that committing a sin is far more difficult than gaining victory over it. To protect me from sin, God has raised such powerful barriers of His grace that at times I simply cannot cross them, because I have neither desire nor interest—only disgust. At the same time, I understand perfectly well that although I am standing, I could fall very quickly. So I guard myself against falling, believing that if I must fall, let me fall into the hand of Jesus. It is frightening to commit sin. Better to die in purity than to live in sin and vice.
Yet amid all of this, throughout my small happiness that lasts a lifetime, I sometimes suffer deeply because I cannot share it in such a way that I can simply give it away and kindle a light in someone else’s life. It is personal to me, deeply rooted and very closely connected with God. I want to give it away, and I do, yet I remain misunderstood and sometimes spend my happy days in complete solitude.
I can tell others about it, teach it, and explain it, but I cannot make another person’s decision or live that person’s happy life. This is something deeply personal between each individual and God. Everyone must choose this path personally.
I know what I have experienced, and my experience of small victories has taught me very important lessons. I see that I have a positive influence on some people, and I rejoice when I can help them, but they must choose their own happiness for themselves.
My happiness is highly self-sustaining. It does not depend on the opinions of others or on their attitude toward me. It rests upon my relationship with God, and when I am in harmony with my Creator, happiness becomes the natural result of that relationship.
I am preparing for life among holy beings. That life has its own laws, and I am already living by many of them here. I understand that they will not change in Eternity, but in Heaven there will be no sin and no enemy of souls with his temptations.
I am writing to you, my friends, about love and happiness with only one desire: that these may also become your personal experience, discovery, and treasure.
God longs for all of us, His children, to be happy amid the hardships and dangers of this world. He gave everything for this—all that was most precious to Him—so that it might become a reality. When I step onto the path of love and happiness, I come into harmony with God and His will, and I am destined to succeed.
‘O taste and see that the Lord is good.’
I strongly urge you to listen to the rebuke and counsel of the True and Faithful Witness to Laodicea. If He tells us to buy something from Him, we need to do it. If He advises us to open something, it is important to answer Him and do so.
In this message, Jesus does not state what will happen to those who remain deaf and unwise, but it is not difficult to understand. If God Himself offers us Himself and friendship with Him, I believe it would be extremely foolish to refuse—or to be so busy that we fail to hear Him.
Do you believe that the happiest person in the world wrote this to you? I do not think, however, that ‘the happiest’ means ‘the only one.’ I am waiting for you, my friends. Enter the land of remarkable discoveries and victories called ‘Happiness in Jesus.’
Bible verses for this chapter:
Luke 19:40; Psalm 139:23–24; 1 Corinthians 13:5; Ephesians 5:9–11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Ecclesiastes 12:9–10; Proverbs 20:27; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 10:12–13; Philippians 4:15; Malachi 4:6; Habakkuk 3:17–19