I want to take time to wish all of my readers a Happy and Christ-filled New Year! A New Year has always initiated changing things for the better. It causes us to reflect on our past year and usually, we just hope things will be better, especially after the last two years with COVID. No one has enjoyed the bleak reports we hear, the inconsistent things people stir up in their minds, or the uncertainty that surrounds what we do know. I have never lived in a time when Satan had such a hold on people’s minds. He uses the scare tactics on some, the pride of life on others, a haughty spirit, hurt feelings, and when these things happen, he wins! This type of feeling does not lend itself to a happy new year.
So, in the current world we live in, how can we ensure we have a happy new year. Some would say, without knowing the circumstances that are around the corner, there is no way to have certainty things will be happy. That will depend on your definition of happy. Instead of hoping, Jesus gives us the answer on how to be happy.
In the New Testament, there are two different words used for the word blessed. The one that teaches us how to have a “happy new year” is the Greek word Makarios. In other places in the New Testament, the word means happy, implying that we are enjoying favorable circumstances, but in the “be attitudes” in Matthew chapter 5, the meaning is deeper and richer. This blessed means to be fully satisfied by God. If we are to be blessed in this manner it is not about our circumstances, it is about our relationship with Him.
If COVID taught us anything it taught us that a huge factor in our satisfaction in life was more about the external than the internal. We looked for our self-worth in ourselves, and what we could achieve. We did not realize the thing the needed most was more of God. Instead, when we had idle time, we shopped online or sought ways to redo our lives, cleaning our closets, starting new projects around the house or just chilling watching movies we had recorded but never had a chance to see. No longer could we use the excuse for lack of bible study or prayer was because we didn’t have time. Even if you worked from home, you gained travel time, uninterrupted time by coworkers, time that may or may not have been spent growing in your satisfaction in God. If you will take the time to read and meditate on Matthew 5:3-12, you will find the greatest lesson taught by the Master himself, on how to live a happy fulfilled life. Look at what you gain when Jesus fully satisfies you.
- When you mourn you will be comforted. The Holy Spirit will comfort you in such a way that your grief may inhabit you, but it will not overtake you.
- The meek, those who exhibit power under control, will inherit the earth. Meekness is not weakness. Yet, even in Christian circles, we are told to be assertive, reading self-help books for every category of our lives, yet living in a generation where anxiety and lack of purpose prevails.
- The hungry will be filled. Have you ever eaten until you felt full, but you still were not satisfied? That is how life is when our appetite is for the wrong things, but when we hunger and thirst for righteousness we will be filled!
- When we show mercy, we will obtain mercy. Mercy is something we need constantly. We mess up all the time, but God offers us mercy through the blood of Jesus instead of justice.
- The pure in heart will see God. When we have no hypocrisy, no pretense, then our outward actions arise from pure motives. When our outward actions show a heart that is continually seeking to be like Jesus, to live a holy life, we will one day see God face to face!
- The peacemaker, those who resist envy and strife everywhere they go they will be called the children of God. Our relationship with God brings peace that must be carried out with our fellow man, otherwise, we are no more than a hypocrite.
- Those who are persecuted physically or emotionally for His sake will inherit the kingdom of Heaven. These people will not compromise God’s word for any reason. They will suffer for it, but they will be fully satisfied by God, and with God. These will one day hear Him say “well done thou good and faithful servant.”(Matthew 21:21-23)
- Those who are reviled are those who are persecuted physically, insulted, or slandered simply because they are a Christian. They will rejoice because they know they will one day gain their reward in Heaven. A reward they can enjoy forever.
Matthew 5:3-12 “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
We are constantly seeking everything that we think will make us happy and satisfied, but it only lasts for a brief time. We are always feeling tired and worn out because we are seeking the wrong thing. We live in a world where anxiety is at an all-time high. There is a complete section in Christian bookstores on how to be happy and successful, how to live our “best life ever.” These books are selling in record numbers because everyone wants this happy and fulfilled feeling. Yet, we pass up the book that has the real answers. The one who created us knows best how to fulfill us. Will you choose this year to be fulfilled by God the way he intended for you to be? If you will commit to seeking fulfillment from Him, you will have a Happy New Year!
