Bible Basics

True Happiness

Many in the world today are unhappy. They are unhappy in their job, in their marriage, in their relationship with others. They are just unhappy. It is common for people to look for happiness in all the wrong places – in material possessions, or advancement in society, or even in a bottle. Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). Interestingly enough, Paul writes these words from a Roman prison not knowing whether he would live or die. How can he say, “Rejoice!” under such circumstances? The key to his happiness is found in the phrase “in the Lord.” Because he was “in the Lord,” his joy was not dependent upon circumstance. The word “happy” comes from the word “happen.” Generally when good things happen to us we are happy; when bad things happen we are unhappy. But Paul could be happy and rejoice even while incarcerated because he was “in the Lord.” His relationship with the Lord enabled him to rejoice under the most difficult situations. It enabled him to look beyond the present suffering to the glory of the future. To the Romans he wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). If you are not “in the Lord” you cannot be truly happy.

                                                                                                               -- Clark Dugger

Bible Basics