Bible Reading: 1 Peter 1:1-8
Do you want to be miserable? I mean really, truly unhappy and dissatisfied with your life? Let me tell you what you need to do to make your life completely miserable.
First, do everything you want to do, no matter what anyone else thinks. Make yourself and what you want your main priority. Self-indulgence is the key.
Second, ignore what God says. Don’t read His word, the Bible. Follow the lifestyle of anyone or any “religion” you want, except for the One True God. Alienate Him. Ignore Him. Better yet, when He speaks to your heart, run away and do the opposite of what you know He wants you to do.
Third, do everything you can to annoy and alienate people. Isolate yourself. Don’t get close to anyone. Nit-pick people’s flaws. Complain about everything everyone does and says.
Fourth, connect with groups and people that support the world’s values. Spend lots of time listening to their ideas. Play their games. Do what they do. Learn to think the way they think. Make friends with people who treat Jesus disrespectfully.
Fifth, invest your life in things that are temporary. Don’t worry about heaven and hell, eternal life, or what will happen when your life on this earth is ended. Focus on here, now, this second.
I guarantee that if you do these things, you will be completely and totally miserable!
Somehow, I really doubt that you want that. I suspect you really want to be happy, content, and at peace. Being happy, content, and at peace is much easier than being miserable.
Verses 3 & 4 of our Bible reading say, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you.”
Accept that. Believe Jesus died on the cross in your place, because of the wrong things you’ve done. Ask for God’s forgiveness and allow Jesus to become the focus of your life. When you do, you will stop being miserable and start living a life filled with genuine joy, peace, and contentment.
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” 1 Peter 1:8
Prayer: Heavenly Father, fill me to overflowing with Your inexpressible joy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.