Happy Days~

Greetings,

1 Peter 3:10-12 “Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth.  God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what He's asked.”

When Hormone and Rayray were little they would eagerly come home and show me a good grade or drawing and then wait with excitement as I posted it on the fridge with a magnet.  To this day I have a box where I have hoarded all their macaroni creations and colored pencil masterpieces.   My favorite pictures of all time are the self-portraits they each made in first grade.  Those are framed in my home office, and I still love looking at them.  The important things is that my kids craved my approval, and I dispensed it regularly and enthusiastically! 

Do we, as God’s precious children, crave His approval?  We should, and the passage above explains why.  When He approves of us, He listens and responds well to what we ask Him to do.

How do we get His approval?  By saying nothing hurtful, by snubbing evil, cultivating good, and running hard after peace.  Doing all this will activate God’s goodness in our lives, and our days will fill up with joy as a result.

What is more important to us? Saying something evil or hurtful, or living a full life and enjoying  happy days?  Is cultivating bad worth it, or is being well-satisfied with life a better option?  Should we run away from peace or run to it and have a life we can love?

Well if you put it that way, I choose a lovely life, happy days, an overflow of goodness, and God Himself responding well to my requests because I am doing the things He has asked. 

Children who receive their parent’s approval feel emotionally stable, and they grow up to be confident, well-adjusted adults.  When we as God’s children receive His approval, we will receive something awesome as well: Answered prayer and our days filled up with good!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We confess that sometimes we say and do hurtful things and run away from peace.  We do it because we are hurt and upset and want to get even.  But, there is a better way – a way that leads to a better life and answered prayer from You.  Your approval matters to us; help us follow Your word, and thank You that there are so many blessings for doing things Your way.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!