This is a good life – my heart is glad, my soul is full of joy, and my body is at rest. Psalm 16:9 (Voice)
We are all looking for a good life. For many, this is the pursuit of financial gain and prestige. Others are captives to the pain in their lives that caused them to make personal vows to achieve certain things during their lifetime. We all want to belong, to find happiness and to experience peace. I love this definition of a good life because it cuts to the core of what’s really important in life.
Gladness
What makes you glad? Who are the people who make you smile and laugh? Your heart can be overflowing with happiness when you have this treasure. There are also things that make you sad yet, in the middle of your greatest sorrow, you can have joy. The disappointments in life do not have to define you but, instead, can cause you to seek the Lord more in order to center your mind on Him. Laughter flows when we change our perspective and enjoy now what later will be a great story.
Joy
Joy comes as you focus on the internal process of trusting God to work even in the tough spots of your life. He has made a commitment to take all circumstances and weave them for good. This is not logical and sequential. Instead, it’s based on revelation and being convinced that it’s not up to you to figure it all out. You just need to TRUST completely and totally. Joy flows from a place of absolute surrender and complete understanding that you have a choice to feel joy.
Peace
Peace comes as you trust God completely. There is a level of peace that surpasses what your mind can manufacture. This is peace that comes from the revelation that God is a work in ALL details – even the ones that seems disastrous at the moment. Hope is factor in this because result of seeking Him and you can rest. This is a good life.
Please share if you know others who need to be reminded that they have a good life.
Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world.
