The Search for Happiness

"It's a hot, sultry day with the sweltering wind spinning little dust whirls and carrying them swiftly down the winding road by the Sea of Galilee. There is an air of expectancy in the atmosphere we breathe. The wind skips happily across the surface of the ancient sea. We hear voices raised in an excited , feverish pitch as friend calls a greeting to friend. Along every trail leading to Galilee little groups of people begin to gather. The word has spread abroad that Jesus is returning to Galilee.
Suddenly He and His little brand of followers emerge over the brow of a hill on the road to Capernaum, and immediately in their wake follows a vast multitude of people from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan River.
Quickly the word spreads from mouth to mouth. "Jesus is coming!" Other multitudes from Tiberias, Bethsaida, and Capernaum soon appear and join the others. Together they follow thirteen robed men. As they reach the summit of the hill where the gentle winds from the plains sweep over them, affording relief from the sun, Jesus stops and motions for them to sit down and rest.
The air is tense. It is a moment to be captured and held for eternity. The crowd hushes as Jesus climbs atop a large rock and is seated. In the valley on the deserted road, a lone camel rider wends his way along the trail toward Tiberias. A quiet falls upon the multitude as their faces gaze expectantly at Jesus. Then He begins to speak.
What He said there on that Mount of Beatitudes in faraway Palestine was to go down in history as the most profound, sublime words ever spoken! There in reverent, measured, simple words He revealed the secret of happiness-not a superficial happiness of time and space, but a happiness that would last forever.
His first word was happy. Immediately His listeners must have
pricked up their ears."

This was taken from Billy Graham's book The Secret of Happiness. Just this little portion was in my devotional for this morning and I thought I would share it with you too.
I learned through this devotional that there are two kinds of happiness. One kind of happiness comes to us when our circumstances are pleasant and we are free from troubles. However, you know as well as I do that our circumstances are constantly changing. Therefore, our happiness can evaporate just like that.
The other kind of happiness is the kind that is a lasting, inner joy and peace that will survive in any circumstances. It is a happiness that endures no matter what comes our way and can even grow stronger in adversity. This is the kind of happiness that Jesus talks about in the Beatitudes. It is the kind of happiness that can only come from God. He alone is our answer to the search for lasting happiness.
If you get a chance read Matthew 5:1-11 for yourself. The bible says in John 10:10 that Jesus declared, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Then in John 15:11 it says, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." I pray that each of you are experiencing true happiness.