Happy In Jesus
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Proverbs 15:13 ESV
“A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.”
Look around. You don’t have to look very far. The world is weary. Hard news accumulates. Smiles are hard to find. Sorrow, as real and as invisible as a virus, lingers over everyone, even our laughter. Proverbs 15:13 promises us that happiness is more than a grimace of a smile. It is something more deep and more profound.
“A glad heart makes a cheerful face.” Not the reverse. The proverb is clear: if you want a happy life, don’t settle for a smile. Seek joy. Seek after it. Seek it by all means. But know this: joy is not happiness by positive thinking, or by perfection of the world around you, or by… anything you do for yourself. Joy is, as the Psalmist sings, “joy in [God’s] salvation.” Joy is a glad heart made cheerful by God’s kindness, through a clean heart. A heart made clean. And that is the Gospel. Christ does not simply give you a smile for when you’re down; He gives you a new heart, one “created to be healthy” in Him, one free of the guilt and shame that bring grief and a tired smile. One full of His grace. Full of hope.
Luther said it very well and very simply. “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.” Living and daring, confidence. That is the joy that will not disappoint you, and that is the joy that is hard to express without a smile. Faith does not take away grief, but grief will not take you away. Grief will no longer overcome you, because Christ has overcome grief on your behalf. Christ has already been broken by grief — by sin, by death, by the sorrow of this world — on the cross.
Yes. The world is a sad place. But this is not the end of the story. Christ is risen. Your sins are forgiven. You are not alone. Happy is the man whose help comes from you, the God of Jacob, whose hope is in you. (Psalm 146:5) Happy is the man who has had all his sins forgiven, who now walks in the light of God’s grace, who looks to the Gospel alone to get there. Happy is the man who has Christ. That is reason enough for a glad heart – and perhaps, a cheerful face as well.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, give me a glad heart even when the world grows dark. Fill me with the joy of Your salvation. May that joy flow over into my words, actions, and treatment of others on this day. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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