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Psalm 146:5 - True Happiness.

Psalm 146:5 (NKJV) Happy is he who has the 
God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the 
LORD his God,  

Psalm 146:5 (NASB) How blessed is he whose 
help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the 
LORD his God,  

COMMENTARY PEARL

   Sometimes I almost wish Thomas Jefferson 
had not inserted those words in the American 
Declaration of Independence about "the pursuit of 
happiness." 
   He was correct, of course; God has given 
us the "right" (or at least the freedom) to 
pursue happiness. The problem is that millions 
think this must be the primary purpose of life, 
and they spend their lives frantically pursuing 
it. In the end, however, their search ends in 
disillusionment. 
   Happiness is a byproduct of something 
greater, not an end in itself. Happiness cannot be 
pursued and caught, anymore than one can pursue a 
sunny day, put it in a bottle, and then bring it 
out on a rainy day to enjoy again. 
   True happiness comes from a different 
pursuit - the pursuit of God. He has promised, "You 
will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me 
with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13). That promise 
is true - because God also pursues us. He even 
sent His Son into the world to pursue us and 
bring us to Heaven. 
   Only God gives true happiness.
   Its not unreasonable to desire 
happiness; its just that were often mistaken in 
how to achieve it. The person who longs to be 
happy is, in reality, a person desperate for God 
himself. [Mornings With Jesus 2022 Devotional by 
Guideposts and Zondervan] 

COMMENTARY

You were created in the image and likeness 
of God. You were made for God's fellowship and 
your heart can never be satisfied without His 
communion. Just as iron is attracted to a magnet, the 
soul in its state of hunger is drawn to God. 
Though you, like thousands of others, may feel in 
the state of sin that the world is more alluring 
and more to your liking, some day - perhaps even 
now as you read these words - you will 
acknowledge that there is something deep down inside you 
which cannot be satisfied by the alloy of earth. 
Then with David, the Psalmist who had sampled the 
delicacies of sin and had found them unsatisfying you 
will say, "Oh God, you are my God; early will I 
seek you: my soul thirsteth for you, my flesh 
longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where 
there is no water." (From Day by Day with Billy 
Graham by Joan W. Brown) [Inspirational SB] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

   Pop psychology is wrong when it tells you 
to look inside yourself and find your value. 
The magazines are wrong when they suggest you 
are only as good as you are thin, muscular, 
pimple-free, or perfumed. Religious leaders lie when they 
urge you to grade your significance according to 
your church attendance, self-discipline, or 
spirituality. 
   According to the Bible you are good 
simply because God made you in his image. Period. 
He cherishes you because you bear a resemblance 
to him. And you will only be satisfied when you 
engage in your role as an image bearer of God. Such 
was the view of King David: "As for me, I will 
see Your face in righteousness; I shall be 
satisfied when I awake in Your likeness' (Psalm 17:15 
NKJV). 
   Lay hold of this promise, and spare 
yourself a world of confusion and fear. How much 
sadness would evaporate if every person simply chose 
to believe this: I was made for God's glory and 
am being made into his image. [You Can Count On 
God by Max Lucado re Isa. 43:7] 

ONE LINER

God can't give us happiness and peace apart 
from Himself because there is no such thing. C. 
S. Lewis 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Revelation 3:20 - An Invitation For 
Relationship With Divinity. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220506-0938.html 

John 15:4, 5 - The Crucial and Vital 
Relationship With Christ. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2017/20170915-0913.html 

John 15:5 - LEARNING TO ABIDE IN JESUS.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210503-0932.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/