Happiness!

Examine and see how good the Lord is.  Happy is the person who trusts him.

Psalm 34:8

 

I am convinced that God created animals in order to teach us.  My Bride and I have a dog, Woody Bear, who teaches us a lot.  He is content to sit quietly with us and get scratched or sleep close to one of us.  And when he gets into one of his moods, he likes for me to chase him.  When I chase him, he actually smiles and wags his tail because he's happy.  By the same token, if I don't chase him, his tail goes down and he has a disappointed look on his face.  Chasing him makes him happy and it really doesn't take much time or effort and I do like to see him happy...so why do I refuse to chase him?  Because I am the one who doesn't feel like it, and disappointing Woody Bear, I hate to say it, is easy for me because he's just a dog.  "Just a dog"....what if God thought about me that way, "I don't need to provide for Paul, after all, he's just a wad of breath filled dirt."

 

But God IS good to me and to each of us!  And just as Woody Bear trusts that we will play together and be happy, God wants us to be happy because we trust Him.

 

Think about that for a minute.