If You're Happy And You Know It

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“This is the day the LORD has made. Let's rejoice and be glad today!” Psalm 118:24

I remember well the song from my childhood and continued to sing it right on into my adult life. If you weren’t blessed to sing this song, the lyrics go like this.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

The verses continue with, not only clap your hands, but stomp your feet and shout hooray! Now that’s some joy down in your bones. I think we might need to drag out the band instruments and sing a little childhood song, because somewhere along the way, we have lost our happy. We have every reason to be happy, but we have allowed the circumstances of life to rip it right out of our hearts.

Because things are so somber in our world these days, there is almost a resistance to being happy. Our faces have been masked and distances set between us. A new panic and fear presents itself daily. Sickness, death, anxiety, evil, strife and discord are real. But we are not talking about being happy because circumstances are good or perfect. No! But as followers of Jesus Christ, we can be happy just because we know Him, are loved by Him and have been called by Him. We are supremely blessed by Him and have reason to be happy.

Will somebody please clap your hands!

I’m convinced some joy and happiness need to gush into our world like a mighty rushing river. Not a little trickle, but a powerful force. I’m talking about that which is propelled by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not just a cute child’s song, but true happiness in our hearts. Can we push aside the ache for one minute and remember that we are the blessed, happy people of Mighty God?

A deep study of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, has re-introduced me to this kind of happy. Each of the eight declarations made by Jesus begins with the word “Blessed.” The Greek word for blessed is “makarios.” It means fortunate, favored, fully satisfied, and yes, happy! Jesus taught that these are the characteristics of kingdom people who live by kingdom principles. We are kingdom people and we carry the Good News of Jesus Christ. Yes, good news!

I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t need some Good News. Let’s wake up and remember that we don’t belong to this world. We belong to the Kingdom of God.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20

“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.” Colossians 1:13

We are Good News people in a bad news world.

If you’ve lost your happy, it’s because you have forgotten the Good News! Tune your instruments. Sing to yourself and then take that mask off and show your happy face and happy heart to a desperate world in need of Good News. I think I hear some hand clapping, feet stomping, hooray shouting right around the corner. Let’s link arms and sing a new song declaring the Good News of Jesus!

I would like to invite you to join me for a summer series titled, “Living the Blessed Life". This will be a study of the beatitudes found in Matthew 5. You can join me Live on Facebook on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 or you can find the messages on our YouTube Channel.

Praying For Cali Chicken

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“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

Praying for Cali Chicken! I know. It sounds silly and yet do we believe that God cares about the details of our lives? We seem to run wide open to pray about the really big things in our lives, but how about those things that do seem a bit ridiculous?

My day was filled with details to be taken care of before leaving home for a week. My heart was already at the beach, but the details continued to drag me back to the reality of the moment. I was in route to my first errand and busy rehearsing my To Do list, combined with prayer. I remember exactly where I was sitting at the stop sign when I calculated that my last stop would be Kroger where I would fill the car with fuel and quickly grab a few roadtrip snacks. It was there that I broke out into prayer. “Lord, would you please provide Cali Chicken for my friend? Could this be the day that the shelf would be stocked? I would love to surprise her with the meal she enjoys, but has been unable to find for several months. It would be so wonderful if while I am grabbing snacks, I could find Cali Chicken.” The prayer was not really for Cali Chicken, but a desire to surprise my friend. Little did I know that the surprise would be for me.

Fast forward through my busy errand day. By the time I filled the car with fuel, my personal tank registered below empty. I decided the popcorn snack wasn’t important and I would forego that last stop. And then I remembered my prayer for Cali Chicken. I tried to brush it off because I was tired and just wanted to get home, pack the suitcase, climb into bed, and awaken refreshed for the beach drive.

But softly, I sensed His voice. “You prayed and asked me for Cali Chicken. Would you not at least go inside and see if I provided it today?”

The question stopped me in my tracks and I quickly pulled into the parking spot. Before responding to the question, I pondered. Yes, I had asked Him for the chicken and I really wanted to surprise my friend. But now the time was late and I was tired, I just wanted to go home. But I couldn’t ignore His voice.

“Yes, Lord, I hear you. Would I not press past the tiredness and the small inconvenience and just see if You answered? Why would I ask and not look? Yes I will.”

When we ask of Him, we should be expectant of Him.

I lingered in the moment, because I knew that He was giving me a revelation about prayer. Important prayers far bigger than Cali Chicken would need this lesson He was generously pouring out. At this point it was insignificant if the refrigerated shelf held the Cali Chicken or not. I was sitting with Him and He was giving me a treasure. The promise is found in our key verse.

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

It doesn’t say, “Ask me for Cali Chicken and I will give you Cali Chicken. The promise here is that He will answer. And He did answer and was showing me great and mighty things that I needed to know.

How many requests have I left sitting on the shelf, simply because I was too tired or too lazy or too unexpectant to look for the answer? I felt repentance well up in my heart and I couldn’t get out of the car quickly enough. It felt like joyful obedience marching into the store. I pushed back the tears as I stepped through the doors. I really didn’t care about the Cali Chicken at this point, but instead I was obeying His voice.

After months and months of empty shelf shopping, on that day the shelf was brimming. I giggled as I stacked my cart with Cali Chicken. My friend got Cali Chicken that day, but I got a treasure in prayer. I’m sharing the provision with you and I promise it’s better than Cali Chicken.

Ask...then expectantly look for the answer. Don’t focus on the request. Focus on God. Listen for His voice and live expectant. He longs to surprise you. And sometimes it includes Cali Chicken.

Hearing Aids

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“When he has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:4-5

I am rejoicing today, because my husband got a new pair of hearing aids. The old pair has not worked well for some time. They had some age on them and had even survived a couple of dives into the pool. I admit that when the constant buzz in his right ear was bothering me more than it was him, I was the one that insisted it was way past time for a new set.

I know that only those who have difficulty hearing can really understand the frustration involved. But I also know that there is a great frustration in living with someone who cannot clearly hear. In my husband's case, he can hear that something is being said, but cannot distinguish many of the sounds. I was speaking louder and louder and repeating myself over and over. On some days, I gave up and just remained silent.

The new hearing aids are bluetooth and remotely controlled through the phone. They have an entirely new set of frustrations, but the hearing is much better. I must add that the marriage is better also. Right now, there is a learning curve in operating through the app on the phone. They not only amplify the voice that is speaking, but also sharpen the sounds that are difficult for him to hear. In a restaurant he is able to silence the surrounding noise so that He can focus on the voices at the table. In church, he can lower the music so that He can hear the words. What a blessing WE are enjoying!

Over the past few weeks as we have been experimenting with the new device, I have secretly desired to have my own set. It would be wonderful to mute the voices I don’t want to hear. If only, I could shut out all the surrounding noises and just focus on the voice I long to hear. Lower the background noise and increase the voices that are only speaking truth. Worship would be sweeter if I could lower the noise, and focus on the One being worshipped. What a delight it would be to shut out the annoying distractions.

Perhaps we all need a set of hearing aids. The compromising voice yells for us every day. The negative reports come buzzing in our ear and the offense spills over onto other people around us. The voice of others and even our own voice can sway and mislead us down the wrong path. We need keen hearing so that we only follow our Shepherd’s voice.

The Holy Spirit longs to speak directly into our spirit no matter what is going on around us. If only we would silence the voice of the enemy shouting all of his lies. What peace we could know if we would mute all the negative voices and amplify the Lord’s voice! To sharpen and clarify His voice, is the desire of my heart. I am in a season of learning to hear God’s voice in a greater way. I believe in the days to come we must all have keener hearing. I cling to this verse from the Old Testament.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

The noise of the world is ever increasing, but His voice can be heard and distinguished above all other sounds as we train our ears to know His powerful voice.

Lean in a little closer and ask for ears that hear Him above all others.

Listen in the quiet.

Practice shutting out the distractions.

Ask Him for ears that hear.

Tune your ears to hear in the middle of chaos.

He longs to be heard, but only those who have ears to hear will really hear.

Lord, we want to hear You.

Open our ears to hear only you.

Only when we hear You, can we really hear others.