Thursday November 07
Happiness From Faith in God
Luke 6:20-23
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
We finished out chat yesterday talking about what Jesus said about our attitude toward circumstances (Luke 6:20-26), our attitude toward people (Luke 6:27-38), our attitude toward ourselves (Luke 6:39-45), and our attitude toward God (Luke 6:46-49). In doing this, Jesus emphasized four essentials for true happiness: faith in God, love toward others, honesty with ourselves, and obedience toward God.
The happiness of most people today in America is dependent upon the “happenings” that surround them. If things are going well, they feel happy but if things are difficult and bad they feel unhappy or maybe a better word is that they are miserable and sad. But the blessedness or happiness that Jesus is speaking of is of a different kind. It is based on a genuine relationship with God by faith through Jesus Christ.
Jesus first addresses the kind of attitude toward circumstances that is based on our faith in God, His love and His sovereignty. Life was difficult for the people living in the time of Jesus and there was not much hope their circumstances would ever be improved. Like people today, many of them thought that happiness came from having great possessions, or holding an exalted position, or enjoying the pleasures and popularity that money can buy.
Imagine how surprised they were when they heard Jesus describe happiness in terms just the opposite of what they expected! They discovered that what they needed most was not a change in circumstances but a change in their relationship to God and in their outlook on life.
Jesus was not teaching that poverty, hunger, persecution, and tears were blessings in themselves. If that were true, He would never have done all He did to alleviate the sufferings of others. Rather, Jesus was describing the inner attitudes we must have if we are to experience the blessedness of the Christian life. We should certainly do what we can to help others in a material way (James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:16-18), but we must remember that no amount of "things" can substitute for a personal relationship with God.
Matthew's account makes this clear: "Blessed are the poor in spirit... . Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. 5:3, 6). Jesus was not glorifying material poverty but rather, He was calling for that brokenness of heart that confesses spiritual poverty within (Luke 18:9-14; Phil. 3:4-14). The humble person is the only kind the Lord can save (Isa. 57:15; 66:2; 1 Peter 5:6). If you compare "The Beatitudes" with Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18, you will see that our Lord's emphasis was on the condition of the heart and not the outward circumstances. Mary expressed this same insight in her song of praise (Luke 1:46-55).
Jesus addressed those who were distressed with, “Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled”. Physical hunger reminds us how dependent upon God we are and gives us a greater appetite for the Gospel and the things of God rather than the temporal pleasures of food and things. Also, our faith in God and His promise of millennial blessings for outweigh temporary hunger. Jesus recognized that now in this world of sin we will often weep but promised one day we will laugh with God (see Psalm 2:4-8), and rejoice continuously.
Jesus Himself would experience the persecution described in Luke 6:22, and so would His disciples. How can we rejoice when men attack us? By remembering that it is a privilege to suffer for His sake (Phil. 3:10). When they treat us the way they treated Him, it is evidence that we are starting to live as He lived, and that is a compliment. All of the saints of the ages were treated this way, so we are in good company! Furthermore, God promises a special reward for all those who are faithful to Him; so the best is yet to come!
Paul expressed this kind of faith in God in the midst of suffering with these words in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
It is our faith in God, His eternal love and care for us that will carry us through the tough times with inward strength and joy!
God bless!
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