Since we are always wishing one another a happy new year I thought it would be good to share a few thoughts on how to have a happy new year. Contrary to what most people think true happiness is not dependent on favorable circumstances but rather a right relationship with Christ. This is good news for our military families who are often dealt very unfavorable circumstances with the stress of multiple deployments, not to mention economic hardships.
A very meaningful verse in the Bible is Psalm 43: 4, I will go to the altar of God, to God the source of all joy. The altar is the place of surrender to God. The path to true happiness is found in surrendering your life to God. When God is the center of your life joy is inevitable. There is a line in a children’s song that says, Joy is the flag flown high in the castle of my heart when the King is in residence there. What does it mean to surrender your life to God?
Anyone in the military knows what it means to submit to authority and obey orders. Surrender to God is simply submitting to God’s authority, to follow His orders and seek His approval. The difference with surrender to Christ is that our motivation is more out of delight than duty. You gladly surrender in response to His sacrifice for you when He surrendered His Son on the altar of the cross to pay for the penalty of your sin and impute His righteousness to your account when you believe in Him. Romans 12: 1 reads, With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him.
I encourage you to surrender your life to God and discover the true source of lasting happiness; a happiness not dependent upon things present or things absent, but a happiness rooted in the ever-present and never absent Jesus! I wish you a Happy New Year!!! Know there is a pastor and a church praying for you. Pastor Andy
