Happiness that Goes Deep

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. (Ecclesiastes 9:7, NKJV)

When someone is in a jovial mood or described as jovial, it means they are good-humored, cheerful, jolly. A person who is convivial. People who tend to be jovial by nature can be characterized as having a hearty, joyous humor, or a spirit of good-fellowship. To be sure jovial people are some of the best people to be in the company of. They can lift our spirit or change our mood from sourly to hopeful or joyful. Even when we are not jovial by nature, sometimes everything in life or in our day will line up in such a way we experience momentary jovialness before we return to our “regular” or “normal” self.

St. Paul writes a lot about happiness in his letters to the churches and king Solomon dedicated many proverbs to the subject of being jovial or having a happy, carefree heart. Many verses encourage God’s people to have a jovial spirit. To be those who are lighthearted, cheerful, good-humored, to have a high or unincumbered spirit. These qualities are good to aim for and desire. Recognizing that God has already accepted our good works, our well intentions, our efforts to bring happiness to others should brighten us inwardly and outwardly. The world is full of heaviness and the devil is always introducing things to us intended to bring us down and feel unhappy. He is a mood stealer and a disposition downer. But the Lord is always reminding us how he accepts us and approves of us and that alone should be enough to brighten and lighten us. Let’s Pray

God, grant us to have that jovial spirit just like our Lord had while on earth. Amen

Reflective Questions for Soul-Tending:

Are you one who has a jovial nature or do you have to work at it? Does it help lift your spirit to know God approves of your good works and efforts?

How will you incorporate today’s message into your plan of soul-care?