Happiness

"This is what the LORD says:

'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

'But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit.'"

We had to memorize this verse for an Old Testament class last semester, and although I recited it probably a hundred times, tried to think of hand motions to accompany it, and eventually made it into a song (what? It has a natural rhythm!), I'm not sure I ever internalized it, or even thought about it's application to my life. Not, that is, until I woke up with it stuck in my head for quite a few days in a row.

You know that saying about something hitting you 'like a ton of bricks'? Personally, I've always thought that was kind of dumb... but that's exactly how this was! After having this verse rattling around in my head for a couple days, I found a quiet place to stop and think about what it could mean in my life and the revelation almost had a physical force to it!

I think I've mentioned my love for people before, but if not, just so you (the reader) know, I LOVE people. I mean it. Really. I love to be involved in their lives and to help out whenever I can, and just to listen to their thoughts or problems. The problem is, I think I tend to make them the source of my joy, and that place belongs to God alone. Rather than find my happiness in the people around me, I need to remember God's promise that He really is all I need. I think this is hard because people are tangible, you can touch them, see the expression on their faces- things that are different from the way God is. But that's why we're people, and He's God. And He never promises it will be easy...