Steps to Be Happy from Psalm 105

by Karen S. Roberts

This devotion is based on Psalm 105:1-4 

That First Rush of Happiness

When you put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ, repenting of your sin, and receiving His forgiveness, you are “born again” into God’s family.  That is just the beginning of a life of experiencing Jesus’ love in your life every day.  As you open your spirit up to His Holy Spirit, you will see changes in your life and will experience new levels of knowing Him in a personal way.

However, you may be surprised to find that you are not always happy as you walk through the Christian life.  You probably had a surge of joy when you first experienced forgiveness and the presence of God in your life.  But the reality of experiencing spiritual warfare as the enemy tries to pull you away from God’s presence may be a surprise.  You find that the life of following Jesus is not always full of happiness.

Tap Into Joy

Happiness comes and goes according to circumstances.  But the joy of knowing Jesus personally can be a constant.  As you read the Bible, pray, and seek God’s will and presence, you can set aside unhappiness and tap into the joy.  The following steps will help you to do this.

8 Things to Do Every Day to Have Joy

In my own quiet time with God this morning, I discovered that Psalm 105 gives eight steps that you can take every day to experience happiness in Christ.  I encourage you to stop and read these verses as we look at these steps.

Step 1  Give Thanks

Take time to express gratitude to God for at least three blessings per day.  This will get your focus in the right place.

Step 2  Call Upon God

Taking the time to call out in faith to Jesus helps you leave problems in His hands, trusting Him to work in the situations of your life.

Step 3  Tell What God Has Done

Sharing with others the love and goodness that God has shown to you is a great way to get your focus off your problems.  Jesus gives us a special joy as we encourage others to turn to Him.  Let people know how He has helped you in the past.  Let them know you are trusting Him for help with current struggles.

Step 4  Sing to Jesus

Even if you can’t carry a tune, you can still lift your voice in praise.  I like to sing along to songs on my favorite Christian radio station.  But often I just sing a song of praise that I know or that I’m making up on the spot.  You can’t stay sad when you are singing to Jesus from your heart. 

Step 5  Talk About God’s Wonderful Deeds

This goes beyond sharing what God has done for you personally.  Tell others of what great things He did as Creator and Redeemer.  Talk about His glorious creation, His miracle powers, changed lives, stories about how He has met the needs of other people, etc.  Tell your family, friends, coworkers how wonderful God is.

And especially tell God how great He is.  That is true worship.  Worship pulls us out of self-focus and brings joy.

Step 6  Glory in His Holy Name

Your worship, expressed in Step 5, will lead you into a deeper level of worship.   Allow His Holy Spirit to fill you.  Think about names for God and what they mean.  (Examples: Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Mighty God, Provider, Healer, etc.)  Let His Spirit lead your worship so that you receive a touch of His glory.

Step 7  Rejoice

Express joy.  Express your faith that God is working everything in your life for good.  Be happy as you rest in the assurance that He will never leave you and is always working behind the scenes to provide for you and to make you more spiritually mature.

Step 8  Seek the Lord

As you take time to seek Him, you will experience guidance and direction, and you’ll receive His strength and enabling to walk victoriously through your day.  He will reveal to you just what you need to know to face your challenges in life.

A Strategy for a Daily Dose of Happiness

I suggest that you always start with giving thanks.  That will open your spirit for doing the other steps.  Otherwise, you will find that some of these steps will naturally flow into others.  For instance, singing praises can lead you into the step of worship: telling God how great and awesome He is.  Seeking the Lord can lead to glorying in His name and rejoicing.

Telling people about His wonderful works can lead into talking about how He has worked in your life in the past and how He can work in their lives.  This sharing of your faith is an overflow from spending time with God doing the other steps.  So I suggest saving the steps of telling others for later in your day, unless, of course, the Lord brings someone across your path in the middle of your practice of the other steps.  Then, by all means, share with them so that they can know what your relationship with God means to you.

Ask God to lead you through these 8 steps.  Make a point to practice them every day so that they become a habitual way of living.  When you are feeling unhappy, make a special effort to spend extra time using these keys to joy, even when you don’t feel like it.

Why not leave a comment below to share how any of these steps have given you joy?  Or to share other Scriptural ways that the Lord has led you into living a happy Christian life?  I love to hear from our readers.