"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4, ESV.
This scripture makes it clear that focusing on Him, and maintaining this focus, is a key to obtaining that internal happiness that the bible calls Joy. Note that this passage says that he who remains focused on Him, trusts in Him. That is the key to building trust in him. The amplified version of the bible gives a little more insight into this concept.
"You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages]." Isaiah 26:3-4, AMP.
I have heard it said, "If the ground under your feet is shaking, you are standing on the wrong thing!" If your life is shaking, you are building your life on, and trusting, the wrong things!
If you are trusting money, then you will be shaken every time you face a financial challenge or situation at work. If you trust in relationships and people, then you will be shaken when those people let you down. Jesus is the only unshakable foundation!!
This same concept of focusing on Him, can be found in the famous Philippians passage quoted below. Let's take a look at it.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:4-8, ESV.
Note that, in this case, we are commanded to rejoice in Him. So rejoicing is actually a choice. Additionally, notice the relationship between being focused on Him, maintaining a lifestyle of continual communication with Him in prayer and thanksgiving, and our thought life.
You can choose to be Happy. As a matter of fact, you are commanded to be happy. If you want to be happy, or filled with joy, you need to start focusing your thoughts on Him, on His goodness, on His magnificence, on His love for you, on His power, on His infinite nature.
Join us next time as we continue studying Happiness and how to achieve it in our lives.
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