Happiness.

Dictionary definition of HAPPY: characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy.

God is happiness. Or in the words of my friend "Joy is from God, and happiness can be anything tiny from God". It's amazing when i think back how stupid i was to think that certain things made me happy in life, things that took me away from my true happiness which is God. I would feel happy in my sin because sin makes you feel good, you wouldn't be doing it if it made you feel bad. So having God back in my life really has made my life more happier. Pastor Chris actually talked about something today that i felt really got to me and made me think. He told us about how he wanted to date this one girl but God told him not to, but he still did and disobeyed God's wishes. Everytime he would pray to God while being with that girl, God would always say "break up with her, i don't want you dating her", but he said "make me break up with her if you want me to than." He challeneged God and by doing that, something terrible happened. I feel that i am like this with God many many times. In the past, i usually would depend on a girl to keep me happy so i would constantly have someone in my life at the time. But it's like most of them i wasn't supposed to date, but i went against God's wishes and nothing good came out of that relationship. The thing that is worse is that i pushed the girls away that actually could've impacted my life and strengthen my relationship with God because i was selfish and thought i knew what i wanted when i really didn't. The world can't make us happy. No matter how much we try to do things our way, if we don't listen to God and do his will, we will never know the true meaning of beying joyful or happy. God is my source of happiness and whenever i am feeling down, i need to remind myself of that because he is true happiness. He will make all the pain, worry, fear, sadness, anger, any negative emotion away. If you depend on God alone, he will take care of you because you are his son/daughter and he loves you so much. Growing up, i never really knew what it was like to have that motherly love, since my birth mother left me at the age of 1, but through that incident God showed me that love through my grandma. She was like my mom growing up, and my dad was working all day so i never really grew up with that fatherly support either. I needed to learn things that other kids learned from their parents on my own, and i felt because of that i was always a step behind. But God works in mysterious ways, and he gave me many gifts, talents, and skills that have helped me to become as strong as a person as i am today. One time during a retreat a guy prayed for me and said "God wants you to know that he loves you." and than after that he said "God says, 'I'll be that father to you paul. I'll be that father you need.'" That's just how God works. He is so amazing and it just leaves me in awe. During that time i actually got accepted to Azusa Pacific University and rejected to all the other colleges i applied to because i screwed up in my first 2 years of high school. But when i showed my dad my acceptance letter, all he could say was "You're so stupid you couldn't even get into Cal State Fullerton?" So i was just feeling pain because i wanted to make my dad proud but his expectations were way too much for me and i just could never reach it in my life ever. So God spoke to me through another person when i really needed it, and i love him so much for that. But God is always with us, and basically the point i'm trying to get across is that He is the source of true happiness. If you think that you are happy in this world and you dont know God, than you are just blinded in your sin because without him no one will know true happiness and joy. So i'll leave you guys and girls with this song and you can look it up on youtube and listen to the lyrics: Hillsongs - At The Cross. Thanks for reading.


-Paul Lem.