[When available, audio recordings of these devotions are posted at http://www.redeemerclc.info/audio-devotions]
Friday, July 8, 2016
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF *HAPPINESS*
What is this "happiness" of which Thomas Jefferson spoke in the Declaration of Independence -- the pursuit of which was natural for human beings and ought not be thwarted by their government?
To the framers of the Declaration and the Founders of our nation "happiness meant being able to provide for your family without fear of famine, incessant warfare, or an exploitative aristocracy" -- a society in which the law-abiding and hard-working could "reasonably expect freedom and prosperity for themselves and their children."
"Well, God wants me to be happy" is one of those phrases too often used as an excuse for doing something God in His Word has expressly forbidden. On the other hand, some might even suggest that God is not especially concerned about our being happy. The fact is the Lord has gone to unbelievable lengths so that we humans might look to the future with a confident expectation of joy. This joy in Christ is so deep and real that the Apostle Paul could from prison write to people whose future might well include governmental persecution and say, "Rejoice in the Lord always."
It is a source of considerable happiness to be able to provide for self and family with some confidence that our efforts will not be destroyed by famine, war, or oppression. But the joy which the Apostle says is ours in Christ and which he urges us to live is not found in anything any society or government can give. This joy is the inner attitude of rejoicing in God's saving love in Christ regardless of outward circumstances. This joy wells up in heart and spills over into everyday life from the sure confidence that God has given us "new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for us, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this we greatly rejoice" (1 Peter 1:3-6).
