I WANT TO BE HAPPY!
TODAY’S MESSAGE OF
FROM
Discovering a BETTER LIFE MINISTRIES
(Stories of Real People, Real Events, Real Places)
Are dedicated to HELPING
PEOPLE FIND PEACE and HOPE
(John 10:10)
(April 24th, 2020)
I WANT TO BE HAPPY!
Friend, every four-tenths of a second a new born baby cries, its first sounds fashioned from the very breath of life. Today, there are over eight-billion of us. People just like you and me. And more arriving all the time!
People who live in more than 150 countries on this planet—and who speak who knows how many languages. Yet, despite our differences, and the conflicts which sometimes arise between us, we all share a common, universal longing---all saying . . . I WANT TO BE HAPPY!
People on the plains of Kenya and in the jungles of Brazil, in Perth, Chicago, Singapore and Milan!
People in London, and Rio! In Osaka, Oslo and Oskosh! All eight-billion of us---wanting to be happy! “Not a single one but has at some time wept,” said H.G. Wells.
Well, is happiness possible? Can this hope be satisfied? Or is happiness the Impossible Dream?
Good questions. Questions which deserve honest answers! I wouldn’t be writing this article today, along with other articles, (around the theme of (I WANT TO BE HAPPY!) which will follow in coming weeks, if I didn’t believe there are answers. But I also know answers aren’t that simple.
When I consider the pain I’ve seen in people’s lives, I often think of the words of the poet,
T. S. Eliot:
“Words strain
Crack and sometimes break,
Under the burden,
Under the tension, slip, slide, perish
Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,
Will not stay still!”
Friend, words can be easy. Cheap! Words often prove inadequate and ineffective. Words can “slip, slide, perish.” That’s why I haven’t rushed in to offer some easy, smooth “Formula for Happiness.” Life brings pain!
Friend, you may be hurting deep down inside at this very moment. Feeling alone! I wish I could offer you an easy escape from your hurt. But I can’t. No one can.
My own deepest hurt comes when I encounter people in pain. It hurts me that I can’t instantly eliminate their pain and make them happy, with a snap of a finger. Nothing would make me happier.
It isn’t that easy. I know that. However, we are concerned about your hurts, and that is one of the reasons the Discovering A BETTER LIFE team present this daily message of Hope and Encouragement. It is because we do want to help you find the better life Jesus offers, along with the genuine happiness associated with entering into a personal relationship with Him (John 10:10; 14:6).
We sincerely hope you will accept our interest (and our reluctance to offer (advice), for what it is---a genuine concern!
Thank you for taking the time to read our daily messages of Hope and Encouragement. All we ask---is that you read all the way to the end. Don’t turn us off. And don’t give up. Not yet anyway. Please give these suggestions---and HAPPINESS---a try! Because we will try to remain aware of the fine line between words that “crack and sometimes break under the burden”---and words that can heal.
Friend, if you would like to shed some of the tensions, irritability, guilt and other negative feelings that are stealing happiness from you, we encourage you to write to Discovering A BETTER LIFE and ask for a small booklet titled “7 Ways God Can Help You Be Happier.”
Our address is: P.O. Box 1540, Albany, WA 6331.
Or you may Email us on: abl-alb@omninet.net.au
You may Phone your request on (08) 98 418 418
“Half the world is on the wrong scent
in the pursuit of happiness.
They think it consists in having and getting.....
On the contrary, it consists in giving and in serving....”
(Henry Drummond)
Friend, thank you for taking the time to read what we feel privileged to have shared with you today. We hope you have been encouraged and blessed.
Ron Bainbridge
Co-ordinator of:
We invite you to visit our Website Blogs:
Media Outreach of Kendenup church of Christ
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