Pastoral Devotion for September – Living a Happy Life

Read: Psalm 34:11-14
Recently, I read an article concerning “The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life.” We all want to have a happy life, don’t we? Though, God doesn’t promise us happiness – that’s not His most important goal for us. But happiness can often come as a byproduct of our relationship with Him. Would you like to know what the secret is? It is found in our passage for this month.
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:11-14

The psalmist begins by saying, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days.” Nearly everyone wants to experience these things so that’s the audience for what comes next. If we love life and want to see many good days, here’s what we should do: “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Those who want to receive these promises from God simply need to take his word to heart. The psalmist gives us the steps that lead us there.

We begin by guarding the things we say. We don’t gossip. We don’t tear people down. We tell the truth. Then we stop doing bad things and start doing good things, unselfish things. Then, we must seek peace. But we don’t just wait for peace to come to us; we pursue peace. That means we do what we can to live at peace with others, especially people with whom we might have difficulty. We don’t do things that are divisive and factional, undermining people who disagree with us or finding fault with them. Everyone can apply the Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life. It begins through our relationship with Christ, and that’s very Good News.
Prayer: Holy God, keep us from evil and help us to live according to the example of our Lord Jesus, so that we would share the happiness of a life reconciled in him. Amen.