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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Four ways to just begin to be happy

A Commentary by Constance Vanides

"Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,..." (1 Peter 1:8)

Secular though it may sound, this common greeting for the beginning of a new year can only be achieved if I follow what the Bible tells me. What is it God says about that state we call happiness?

For starters, I checked out Proverbs. That wonderful book tells me a lot about how to live.

Proverbs 3:13 tells me, in order to be happy, "find wisdom and gain understanding"; all the things I desire cannot compare with this. That in itself ought to keep me busy this year!

Proverbs 14:21 tells me to "have mercy on the poor" in order to be happy. I understand it to mean not necessarily "poor" financially, but poor in spirit. This requires me to do something for someone else.

Proverbs 16:20. Check this one out carefully: "He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he." I'll actually be happy if I plainly trust in the Lord! Now, that's a biggee! So much so that this topic is repeated over and over again in God's Will In Today's World; click the book's Topical Index and uncover more about trust.

Finally, Jesus tells me in John 13:17, "If you know these things, happy are you if you do them." Reading ahead of this statement, I discover He is talking about washing the disciples' feet. I'm required to be a servant and do as Jesus has done for me, in order to be happy. That's a mighty tall order for the entire year!

And those are only four of the ways to become and stay happy!
I'm willing, are you?

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