God's word is joy fuel
Our cultural moment makes the problem feel acute, but the pursuit of happiness is a well-worn path. The book of Psalms, written about 3,000 years ago, begins with this exact issue: “Blessed is the man” (Ps. 1:1). Another way to translate this word is “happy.” “Happy is the man.” Do you want a happy life? Listen to the wisdom of this psalm; the answer may surprise you. Happy is the man whose “delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). Don’t be misled by Psalm 1’s simplicity. This is profound wisdom, guaranteed to produce the joy our souls crave. Meditate on Scripture The two lines of Psalm 1:2 are parallel. To delight in the law of the Lord is to meditate on it day and night. That’s quite the task! Do you have to become a monk to be happy? Do you need to spend all day studying God’s Word and doing nothing else? If I spent one less hour per day meditating on my phone, and one more on God’s Word, I would almost certainly be happier. The short ...