Happiness | His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

That’s Not How It Works

July 31, 2015 2 comments

When an old woman from a small village won a washing machine in a contest, she was delighted. A few days after it was delivered, a friend visited her and was astonished to discover the old woman was still washing her clothes by hand, filling the tub with water and rubbing the wet clothes against the sides of it!

“That’s not how it works,” the friend explained, showing her how to let the machine do the work for her.

The old woman replied, “But if I do it that way, everyone will praise the machine and not me.”

As human beings we crave praise. Because we’re made in the image of God, that’s understandable. The desire for praise is an integral part of who God is. In Isaiah 48:11, God says He does everything in order to bring glory to Himself. “For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, my glory I will not give to another.”

However, as a result of our fallen, sinful nature, we reject the idea of giving praise to God and seek it for ourselves instead. Jesus warned his disciples about religious acts carried out in order to get praise from others. He gives an example of this in Matthew 6:1, where he pointed to the prayers of the religious leaders of the day. “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.”

While not as obvious as praying in public in order to bring glory to oneself, to glorify oneself in private can be just as troublesome. Do you give yourself high marks for reading God’s Word, church attendance or tithing? What about being faithful to God? Do you find delight in your high moral standards?

To make sure all our praise is directed outward, to the one who deserves it most, His love for us needs to be at the forefront of our hearts and minds. The Psalmist says in Psalm 26:3, “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.”

It’s the faithfulness of God that we walk in, not our own. It’s God’s love for us, not our love for God, that we’re depending on. It’s what God has done for us, not what we have done for God, that makes us able to spend eternity with Him.

For Him to get the praise, that’s how it works.

Categories: Christian Living, Devotionals, Glorifying God, God's Love, Happiness Tags: Glory, God's love, Matthew 6, Praise, Psalm 26, Way It Works

Are We Jealous of God’s Generosity?

July 20, 2015 Leave a comment

As believers, we sing of God’s amazing grace, but, if the parable Jesus told in Matthew 20 is any indication, lurking beneath these praises could be a heart of jealousy.

In this story, found in Matthew 20:1-16 and often called the Laborers in the Vineyard, Jesus tells of a landowner who hires laborers to work in his vineyard. He does this throughout the day, so that the laborer hired in the early part of the day works many more hours than the laborer hired at the end of the day. Yet, the landowner pays each worker the very same wage–the amount initially agreed on when the hiring took place. Thus, those who worked longer received the exact same wages as those who worked for only one hour.

Predictably, when those who had worked a full 12 hours noticed that the landowner had paid each man the same wage, they grumbled and complained to the owner of the vineyard. This was the owner’s answer in Matthew 20:15, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

Since the landowner is representative of God, we should take this parable as a cautionary tale to guard ourselves from complaining about the blessings God bestows on someone who appears undeserving of such grace. Instead, when God showers someone with blessings, our response should be one of joy. Imagine how pleased the landowner would have been if the workers, who bore the heat of the day, had rejoiced with with the workers who had worked but a few hours. What a celebration they could have had!

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:14-15.

Categories: Christian Living, Devotionals, Happiness, Success Tags: Envious of God's Blessings, God's Generosity, God's Grace, Jealousy of others

Is Your Life Out Of Focus?

October 27, 2014 Leave a comment

One of the great things about most cameras today is the automatic focusing feature. I’m old enough to remember using a camera that required fiddling with a bunch of dials before snapping the picture. Most of the time, those waiting to be photographed weren’t very patient about this process, and, oftentimes, after all that effort, the photo turned out to be out of focus after all.

As children of God, it would be nice to have this automatic focusing mechanism built into our daily lives. Then, the moment our lives became blurry around the edges–from partaking of all the world has to offer, from neglecting Bible study, from participating in non-glorying-God activities–then our focus would automatically be returned to our Father, to concentrating on His plan for our lives, to living out Christ in us, “the hope of Glory” (Colossians 1:27).

However, none of us has an automatic focusing mechanism. What we do have, though, is something even better–the Word of God. Whereas something working in the background and automatically redirecting one’s focus towards God sounds good, in reality, such a device would ultimately lead to apathy and to taking God for granted. It would not adhere to the command “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

God’s Word redirects our focus to Him in numerous passages of Scripture throughout the Old and New Testament. One of my favorite such verses is 2 Thessalonians 3:5: “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

Have you lost your focus? Direct your heart today to the love of God. “The love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).

Direct your heart also to the steadfastness of Christ. “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Spending time with the Lord in daily Bible study and prayer brings clarity to our lives. It sharpens an otherwise blurry picture.

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Categories: Bible, Devotionals, God's Love, Happiness, Prayer Tags: Blurry Picture Sharpen, Camera Out Of Focus, Clarity in Christ, Direct Heart Toward God, Faithfulness of Christ, Lost Focus Christ, Lost Focus God, Redirect Your Focus, Work Out Salvation

Who’s Going To Take Out The Trash?

October 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Do you remember any of the items you threw in the trash last week? Do you recall what you tied up in a plastic garbage sack, put inside a garbage can, and rolled to the curb a month ago? Probably not. They aren’t important now. That stuff is yesterday’s garbage.

That’s exactly how God treats the sins of His children. Those sins are yesterday’s garbage. Hebrews 8:12 “I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Since God is . . . well, God, it’s hard to believe He’s just going to forget this trash. As human beings, we remember our failures, our transgressions, our sins, our disobedience. Not so with God. Hebrews 10:17: “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

As difficult it is for us to accept God’s forgetfulness, one look at Scripture proves that God is both a God of forgiveness and a God of forgetfulness. Were it not so, He would have crushed Adam and Eve from the moment they believed Satan’s lie, not bothering to go looking for them, inquiring, “Adam, Where are you?” Were it not so, He would never have given the Ceremonial Law, providing cleansing from sin or the Mercy Seat for the atoning of sins. Were it not so, He would never have sent His only Son who said he was going to die an excruciating death, “for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28.

Putting away the sin in one’s own life, is just like getting rid of any other refuse. First, it must be brought to the trash can. Bring your sins to God. Proverbs 28:15: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Second, it must be left there. Leave your sins with God. Hebrews 11:10-23: “. . . hold fast the confession of our faith, without wavering. . .”

Lastly, walk away. Walk away in God. 2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has granted to us all that pertain to life and godliness.”

“I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.” Isaiah 43:25. Why not allow Him take out the trash for you.

No one does a better job of it.

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Categories: Devotionals, Forgiveness, God's Love, Happiness, Sin Tags: Can God Forget? My Sins, Can You Forget Sin? Forgetting Sin, Forget About Sin, Forgive God, God doesn't forget, God Forgets, God Forgets Sin, How I Can Forgive, How To Forget

How Can I Find Happiness?

September 4, 2014 Leave a comment

As I enjoyed an early morning quiet time on my patio recently, I became captivated by the play of light and dark, shadow and sunlight, across the foliage of my backyard. I had just been reading a devotional about mankind’s universal search for happiness. In the article, C. S. Lewis’ classic, Mere Christianity, is referenced, particularly this quote, “All that we call human history–money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery–is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

After reading this quote, I glanced up from my iPad and saw the patterns the early morning sun was drawing in my garden. Some flowers were in shadow, while others were in sunlight. The flowers highlighted by the sunlight looked “happier” than those flowers residing in the shadows. Why was that? Well, obviously, it was because the “happier” flowers were basking in the sun’s light, while those in the shadow were not receiving the sun’s full benefits..

Although I’m quite certain flowers do not experience human emotions, my garden’s shadows and sunlight illustrated the truth of my devotional reading. We all seek happiness, but as long as we remain in the shadows–substituting other people, pleasures, and pursuits for God in our lives–we will never be truly happy.

“You make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11.

Turn your face toward the Son. Bask in the warmth of His Light today.