Hello fellow Christian writers!
Where on earth has the time gone?
It seems like it was only yesterday that our clocks struck midnight and we moved forward into 2024. Now here we are almost at the midway point in the month of February. As the saying goes: Time waits for no man!
Sigh!
Let’s talk about happiness!
Throughout my Christian journey I’ve been taught that we should not be aiming for happiness but for joy. Happiness was presented as something shallow, something that only occurred when your circumstances were “happy”.
Joy however is king! Joy, the ability to celebrate something about your circumstances and be content within them (whether good or bad), was presented as the more mature emotion… the preferable option to the fickle state of happiness.
For a while I accepted this idea, but then various scriptures would float up within my consciousness and demand my attention, and these scriptures seemed to counter this theory. I refer to scriptures (paraphrased) such as those indicating the following:
- People who love and serve God will be happy indeed (Psalms 144:15 TPT*)
- Happy are those who obtain wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 3:13 KJV*)
- Happy are those who keep trusting the Lord (Proverbs 16:20 KJV)
So, if the Bible mentions the word “happy” and presents it as a desirable state, and since God is the author of his Word, who are we to redefine any aspects of it, be it individual words or concepts?
Whilst I do accept that JOY is a fruit of the spirit and a desirable virtue to possess, I am no longer throwing happiness out of the equation. Whether a Christian or not, I believe God desires that we (as the apex of his creation… as his creative masterpiece), be happy.
He has given clues about what makes for happiness, and I believe that as individuals who share his creative DNA, we can choose to create our own happy environment.
So, what makes me happy as a writer?
- The act of writing
- Appreciative readers
- Personal fulfilment from doing that which I love to do and am gifted to do
- The satisfaction of challenging, entertaining, or influencing my readers
- The opportunity to combine my Christian faith with my writing ability, to support or encourage others on their Christian journey.
What say you?
With best wishes,
Carol
A Self-Styled Christian Writer
(*TPT = The Passion Translation, *KJV = King James Version)
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Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. I wish you a happy writing journey this year. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And would you go the extra mile and share my post with your social network? Many thanks, in anticipation!
C a r o l ' s P l a c e 