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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don't stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! (Psalms 1:1)
Sometimes we look at life as a choice between following Messiah or being happy, but it's really not that way at all. In fact, we cannot be truly happy without following the Lord.When Yeshua gave the derash (sermon) on the Mount, he said, "How blessed are the poor in spirit.... How blessed are the meek.... How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.... How blessed are those who make peace" (Matthew 5:3-9). That's a lot of blessedness. The word in Hebrew for "blessed" is ashrey. It doesn't just mean "blessed"; it also means "happy," or literally, "How happy!"
Ashrey is derived from the Hebrew word for "straight" or "right." For in the end, the way of happiness and the way of righteousness always turn out to be the same path.
Do you want to be happy? Stop seeking happiness. Seek righteousness instead. Seek what is right, believe what is right, receive what is right, do what is right, walk in what is right, live by what is right. All the rest will be added unto you. God's way is the way of true joy. Follow it and you'll be blessed, and not only blessed, but happy ...and not only happy, but you'll arrive at that state in which you'll say, "Ashrey!" (How happy!)— with an exclamation point!
...remember that the way of righteousness and joy are the same path.
JC
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
