Happiness And Psychology Knocking On The Door

It is a serious wonder to read the inerrant, supernatural words of the living God. For over 40 years, I have been privileged to immerse myself in the magnificence of the Holy Scriptures found in the majority-text authorized King James Version of the Bible. I, as all the saints before me and those of this current time, have found the words of our God, "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). The redeemed revel in the Word of God, in the absolutes of its truths, the perfect remedy of its prescriptions, the peace that passes understanding it affords, and the glorious light it sheds upon our paths-all bringing to pass the unspeakable salvation His words make eternally real. Years ago, I spoke to a young skeptic who informed me that he read the scriptures through one time, cover to cover, and was not really impressed. Had he actually read the Bible through, as he claimed in the heat of debate (which, by the way is not likely), there is a very obvious reason he came away unimpressed. His ears were not prepared to hear. Proverbs 22:17-19:

17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.

To the men and women who have read it one time, the Word of God is not a carnal novel to be read one time and set aside, but it is living water. It is the light of life that nourishes and grows in intensity, day by day, and its revelations continually expand and dazzle the faithful.

God's words are not printer's ink and paper. They are Spirit and Truth and must be spiritually discerned. John 1:1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Revelation 19:13:

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

God and His Word must be approached with the ears bowed down. Has your ear been prepared to hear? Have you been born-again, literally born a second time, but this time of the Spirit of God? Would you like to be saved from the wrath and judgment of an angry God? Would you like to be delivered from the hurtful lusts that bind you? Then GodSaidManSaid has liberating news for you. Today is your day of salvation. Right now, at this instant, click onto "Further With Jesus" for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. Now for today's subject. 

GOD SAID, Psalm 144:11-15:

11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:

14 That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.

15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 14:21:

...But he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

GOD SAID, Mark 16:15-16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

GOD SAID, John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

MAN SAID: Happiness is hitting the lottery, being independently wealthy, lavishing luxuries upon myself, and living a life of leisure. That's happiness. 

Now THE RECORD. This is GodSaidManSaid's faith-building feature #571. A new feature, God willing, is launched every Thursday eve. These are archived in text and streaming audio. These features certify by sundry, non-biblical, academic sources, the full inerrancy of the Holy Bible. Thank you for coming today. May faith abound! 

In every arena of contention, Biblical skeptics continue to fall before the Word of God. Keep in mind that for the past 6,000-plus years Satan has paraded his most learned and articulate champions before us, the sons of Adam, trying to defy God and His Bible-but has failed time after time after time. Be of good cheer, childlike believer, for your faith will be rewarded. 

When academic search and discovery arrives at the truth of a matter, it is shocking how often we find that God's Word, written thousands of years before, is already there. For example, non-biblical fields of study have unwittingly certified God's accounts of:

● The beginning

● Paradise

● All creatures were vegetarians

● First man and first woman

● Adam's rib and Eve

● The fall and the snake that once had legs

● The global flood in the days of Noah

● Dinosaurs and man living contemporaneously

● Sodom and Gomorrah

● Moses and the enslaved children of Israel

● The great plagues of Egypt

● Giants on the earth

● God's strong man, Samson

● David's slaying of Goliath

Numerous features on GodSaidManSaid address the field of psychology and its discoveries that unintentionally shout YES to God's Word. Central to psychology is psychoanalysis - word therapy. New research has concluded that word therapy is at least equal to and many times superior to prescribed medications. Now consider the born-again who is totally immersed in word therapy. He daily studies the scriptures meditating on the Word of God, attends formal word therapy services where he sings the songs of Zion, testifies of God's deliverances, and bows his ear to the preaching of the Word of God. This is Holy Ghost word therapy and it totally transforms the children of God. Well said is Hebrews 10:25:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Psychology knows a concept called positive-reframing. Positive-reframing is when one takes a negative circumstance-a negative picture-and reframes it in a positive light. For instance, a loved one dies and the words are, "She's in a better place," or "She doesn't have to suffer anymore," etc. The Word of God is the ultimate positive reframer of circumstances and it is supported by so much more than positive thoughts, and, in fact, is supported by the commandment of God and His heavenly host. When Romans 8:28 is mixed with faith, the results are truly out-of-this-world.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Consider Psalm 119:71:

It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Positive reframing? Yes, and so much more. 

Numerous other psychological examples can be cited, such as supernaturally harnessing the placebo effect and disengaging the nacebo effect, using stress-shifting procedures, and demolishing grudges and bitterness, etc. But let's move on to today's subject. In the May/June 2011 issue of Psychology Today, the cover story was titled "Six Clues to Character." The following paragraphs are from that feature:

THERE'S A GREAT deal of cultural confusion about what happiness is and how to achieve it. Psychologists and philosophers find that happiness derives from having a sense of purpose and feeling useful. But a culture of consumption like ours puts forth highly seductive messages suggesting happiness comes from enjoying a string of positive events or a life of ease or acquiring things, know as hedonic happiness. Exploring a person's beliefs about happiness is likely to reveal not only how they might approach it but how likely they are to find it. Anyone who seeks it in acquisitions will be doomed to disappointment; hedonic pleasures have limited staying power. 

Neuroscience has something important to say on the matter-primarily that happiness isn't something you can pursue directly. It's a byproduct of other things, most notably working toward meaningful goals. In the brain, maximum positive feelings are generated, and negative feelings turned off, not after reaching a goal but in the approach to a challenging goal, one you're not 100 percent certain you can reach, one where you have to muster all your resources and stretch. It's in that last final sprint toward it that people feel most happy. There is no happiness without challenge, risk, and growth.  [End of quote]

Psychology's prescription for happiness is once again knocking on heaven's door. The excerpt from Psychology Today refers to the failure of hedonism to produce happiness. Hedonism, according to Funk and Wagnall's is "The doctrine that pleasure is the only proper goal of moral endeavor." But happiness is not one's own personal pleasure. Acts 20:35:

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Happiness is the quest of the cross of Christ, a place where one dies to himself and strives on to the blessed hope - eternal life in Christ Jesus, which is not fulfilled until we leave this life. Happiness is reaching out to lost souls with the message of reconciliation. Happiness is helping those in need. Happiness is enduring to the end. Matthew 10:22:

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

According to Psychology Today, happiness is:

● Feeling useful

● A sense of purpose

● A by-product of other things

● Working toward a meaningful goal 

● A goal you're not 100% certain you can reach 

● The final statement from the paragraphs highlighted is, "There is no happiness without challenge, risk, and growth."

Welcome to the Bible. Happiness is the cross of Christ - true word therapy. Thousands of years before academia begins to understand the truth of a matter, God is already there. 

GOD SAID, Psalm 144:11-15:

11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:

14 That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.

15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 14:21:

...But he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

GOD SAID, Mark 16:15-16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

GOD SAID, John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

MAN SAID: Happiness is hitting the lottery, being independently wealthy, lavishing luxuries upon myself, and living a life of leisure. That's happiness. 

Now you have THE RECORD. 




References

Authorized King James Version

Marano, H.E., "Clues To Character," Psychology Today, May/June 2011, pp59-60

 

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