The Pursuit of Happiness

You will seek me and find me when you seek
me with all of your heart.  — Jeremiah 29:13

On a scale from 1 to 10,  what would you rate your level of happiness?  By this, I simply mean that you really enjoy your life on a day to day basis.  Right now, I would give myself
about a 9.  I can’t really think of a reason to not give myself the extra point.  I guess there is just something in all of us that thinks that there is another level.  “If I could just have________, then I would be happy.”  It seems there is always something.

As I type this, I am in between games on a Sunday at a Scrabble tournament.  (I’m in 3rd place with a 6-3 record if you care about that sort of thing)  If I win, it would make me pretty happy.  But, honestly, I’d rather be at church with my family.  I’m just sitting here
thinking…when have I been the happiest in my life?

On the surface, I think of several things that made me happy for a while.  For example, I was REALLY happy the day I married my wife.  Unfortunately, I had so much
selfishness in me that we had a couple of rocky years.  Even during those years,
we kept dating,  had some hard conversations, and kept pursuing The Lord.  I
don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but He blessed our marriage like crazy.
I absolutely love being married to my wife!  But, that happiness wasn’t just
handed to us…it took some effort.  Everything good takes effort.

Now that I think about it, I am the most happy when I am making the effort to really
pursue God.  I have without a doubt tasted His goodness.  I know what it is like
to have to pull over on the side of the road because I am snotty and crying
because He is all over me.  The first few times it happened, I asked Him to
stop…it was just too overwhelming.  Now, I try to maintain it as long as
possible.  There is nothing else like it.  It is amazing how my life is so
shaped by it.  I mean, I am working at a school that just about everybody,
including the students, have said “you are crazy for choosing to come here.”  I
went simply because I felt like He was saying “go”. And let me tell you, so far
I have not had one day yet where on my way to work I have not encountered the
presence of The Lord.  I hope that never goes away!  When my classroom is empty,
I read aloud Ezekiel 37:5-10.  I  feel Him there as well.  It is
amazing!

I guess I say all that to say this:  If you seek God with all of
your heart, you will find Him.  You won’t find all of Him, but He will reveal
Himself piece by piece.  To me, He is like a puzzle with an infinite number of
pieces.  I hope I maintain this hunger for the Word.  I hope I keep on
worshipping Him with everything that I have and everything I am.  I hope I keep
pursuing that feeling of having Him engulf me with His presence.  I hope I never
return to feeling like I HAVE to serve Him…I hope I WANT to!

Taste and see that The Lord is good; blessed is the one who finds refuge in Him. — Psalm
34:8

Later

Adam