The Key to Happiness
The Key to Happiness
The very first Psalm puts it plainly,
“How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.” -Psalms 1:1-2 CSB
The root word for the Hebrew translation of 'happy,' as used here, is 'āšar (pronounced aw-shar). It literally means to be right, to be level, to prosper, and to flourish.
Have you ever observed a fellow Believer’s walk and concluded that, “dang, they’re doing great in life”? And then, if you’re anything like me, you examined your own life in hopes of pinpointing where you had been going wrong all this time. You adhered to all the behavior modifications you thought you needed to be ‘right and prosperous’. And you still came up short. It is laughable in hindsight.
In my conversations with those whom I deemed better off than I, I found that they had gone through years of God’s pruning, His processes, and His utter crushing. Those formative years helped them to become the versions of themselves that we see today. It wasn’t overnight (or “overyear,” for that matter). It took a while. They had to learn to delight in (desire; yearn for) the Father’s instruction, and then to practice meditating on those instructions. It took time for them to become lovers of God’s Word, His truth. And to obey. The company they chose to keep, the environments they allowed themselves to be in, the things that they chose to indulge in all shifted as they delighted themselves in God’s instruction.
One thing that has always stood out to me in this particular psalm is the first two lines: “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked…” One day, the Holy Spirit highlighted to me that ‘advice from the wicked’ doesn't just implicate bad friends and acquaintances. No, it’s also talking about the devil himself. Do you know that the enemy is always advising? That he is always suggesting? That’s his job. The issues ensue on our end when we begin to listen to him instead of our very own Spirit of Counsel.
Could it be that you’re not flourishing because you’re not listening? You’re not happy because your delight is to follow the path of sinners? Have you been meditating on Satan’s sayings instead of the Lord’s? Do you resist the Father’s hands when He is pruning and purging you? Do you resist his processes?
These are questions that only you can answer. When the truth finds you out, respond with true repentance and commitment to God’s way. It will lead to your flourishing, your ‘being right’, and your happiness.
