Tuesday July 07, 2018

 

True happiness is the result of many choices; it is the result of choosing to accept the fact that you are not perfect and that you do not have everything under control. It is choosing to accept the fact that God exists and has the power to help you recover from your imperfections. It is choosing to commit your life to God’s care and control. It is the choice to examine your life and admit your faults to yourself, to God, and to someone else. It is choosing to submit to the changes that God wants to make in your life. It is the choice to seek forgiveness from those you have wronged and choosing to freely forgive those who have wronged you. It is the daily choice of spending quiet time with God for self-examination through the reading of God’s word and prayer. Finally, it is the choice to share with others through your words and example the changes that God has produced in your life.

 

The Bible teaches us that our gifts, abilities, and talents have been given to us for the purpose of benefitting others.

 

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:10 NIV

 

The Bible teaches us that every word we speak should benefit the listener.

 

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. – Ephesians 4:29 NLT

 

The Bible even teaches that God heals and comforts us for the benefit of others and not just for ourselves.

 

[God] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. – 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT

 

God wants to use your life experiences, the good and the bad ones, to benefit others. What some of you have already discovered and perhaps some of you are about to discover, is that there is no greater accomplishment in life than to help someone discover true and consistent happiness through the redemptive power of God. There is no greater and more satisfying accomplishment than to help someone find the assurance of eternal life. So, tell the story of what God has done in your life. Share your story because God wants to use it to make you and those around you truly and consistently happy.