Luke 6:21 says, Happy are you who are hungry now; you will be filled! Happy are you who weep now; you will laugh!
This verse sounds all topsy turvy. How can someone who is hungry be happy? I know that I'm miserable when I'm hungry. But Jesus is talking about spiritual hunger here. He is saying that if you hunger for his kingdom, his word, prayer, etc., you will be satisfied. Jeremiah 29:13 says, When you search for me with all your heart, you will find me! Jesus also said that those who weep are happy. He was talking about grieving our separation from God because of our sin. When we become aware of our sin it makes us feel sad because it separates us from God. But when we confess our sin and ask God to forgive us, he takes it away and forgets about it. We are happy because we're forgiven and restored into a right relationship with God. Proverbs 13:4 says, No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants. We weren't designed to sit around and do nothing all day. (Note: we weren't designed to work ourselves to the point of exhaustion either).
There are several verses in Proverbs about laziness. Here are a couple of them: Proverbs 10:4 Hard workers will become leaders. But those who are lazy will be slaves. Proverbs 12:24 Lazy hands will make you poor; hard-working hands will make you rich. Proverbs 19:15 Lazy people sleep a lot. Idle people will go hungry. The principle in all these verses is that you have to work for the things that you want, whether that is material things, good grades, promotion at work, etc. Laziness shows a lack of care or concern about something. We should do everything as though we are serving God, not people. We definitely shouldn't be lazy about serving God. Have you been lazy about certain things? What can you do to resolve this? Zechariah and Elizabeth desperately wanted a child but were old and had not been able to fall pregnant. While Zechariah was serving in the temple, an angel appeared to him and told him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him John. You will be very happy, and many others will share your joy over his birth." This baby grew up to be John the Baptist and spread the good news of the Gospel. Not only were his parents happy because God answered their prayers, but many other people are happy because they were saved through his ministry.
Can you think of a time when you have been been happy about answered prayer? I think that the longer you wait, the happier you are. Proverbs 13:1 says, Wise children pay attention when their parents correct them, but arrogant people never admit they are wrong.
One of the Ten Commands tells us to respect our parents. Respect your father and your mother, as I, the Lord your God, command you, so that all may go well with you and so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you. Deuteronomy 5:16 Jesus also referred to this commandment several times in his teaching so it's clearly important. It's not fun when you are corrected and disciplined. You might think that your parents are old-fashioned, overly strict, or unreasonable, but they are trying their best. It's actually a lot harder to be a parent than you think. Next time they tell you off, try not to be angry or defensive. Take some time to think and pray about what they've said. |
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