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bigmike

True Happiness is Found in Jesus Christ
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10, KJV
Have you ever noticed how many times it is the little things in life that really get to you? You can drive your car off a cliff, someone kidnaps your mother-in-law, or your mortgage is foreclosed on, and that doesn’t bother you quite as much as the little things such as running out of razor blades, your phone battery is dying, or not being able to get your computer to work right. I think we would all agree it’s the little things in life that are often more irritating than the major disasters. Solomon revealed a great truth when he said it is the little foxes that spoil the vines.
Years ago, I was traveling through an industrial area of central England. In this area, coal was the sole means to heat the massive furnaces of industry. As a result, the smoke over a period of years darkened buildings to dismal shades of gray.
It was on a very gray, cloudy morning that I passed through an industrial town outside of Birmingham, in England. I couldn’t help but notice the gray laundry hanging outside on clotheslines, the once-white buildings with their facades blackened by soot and coal smoke. I turned to the friend who was my host and asked, “Isn’t this atmosphere depressing to the people who live here? It would drive me crazy!” With a knowing smile he replied, “No, the people who live here are some of the happiest people in all England because they have learned to live above the circumstances.”
Happiness in life is not dependent upon beautiful surroundings, but upon your ability to cope with the circumstances you face in life, and for this you need help—God’s help. He is the one who can give you the lift, and lift you above the circumstances. The Apostle Paul said, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Now what things was Paul writing about? He was referring to the circumstances of his life, and in his case, they were not very positive. In the same chapter of the Bible where Paul says we can be more than conquerors, he lists some of the circumstances he faced: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and the sword—not the sort of things that are associated with happiness. Then how could Paul say, “In all these things we are more than conquerors”?
A conqueror is one who knows what it is to go through the heat of the battle—to suffer and to do without, so that he can win in the end.
Jesus Christ can be the resource you need for life’s most trying circumstances. The big hurdle is that we don’t like to admit that we can’t always cope well with circumstances that confront us—simply put, we need God’s help. The human heart is stubborn and always wants to go it alone. So, we try to work on our own problems with no outside help.
If you’ve been trying to find happiness through your efforts alone, may I recommend the peace that Jesus Christ gives—peace that passes understanding? He said also, “I have come that they might have life and … have it more abundantly” (John 10:10, KJV). He also said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Friend, begin getting acquainted with Him by reading the New Testament in your Bible. Bow your head and heart in His presence, and ask Him to take control of your life, to guide you, to be your friend, and Savior. I can guarantee you will never, ever regret it. Life in its fullest will then begin for you.
Resource reading: John 10:1-10

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