HAPPINESS

InSpired

THE RIVER OF JOY WITHIN YOU

The benevolent Father has given every believer all we need for life and godliness.

The Life of the Holy Spirit housed in the Human Spirit is God the Almighty bottled up in the spirit of man and may never find full expressions excerpt to be allowed to heal and provide once in a while.

Joy, such unspeakable joy is the inheritance of every Christian. Irrespective of the circumstances that surrounds you at anytime, you are ordained to reach for the life of God in your Spirit and allow the Joy within which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit overwhelm the sorrow that your circumstances wants to bring to your Soul.

A SONG

SUCH JOY!

Verse 1

There is a peace that floods my Soul

When the Spirit of thy LORD is in cintrol

There is a joy, no bound can hold

When Spirit blow a fresh wind through my Soul

Holy Spirit flow through me

Touch my heart and there will be Such joy, such unspeakable joy

Such peace , an everlasting peace

Such love, pure and holy love

Spirit have your way in me.

Joy is an outflow of slide filled with the Holy Spirit. It is fruit of the Holy Spirit and is the right of every believer.

Jesus Christ, our LORD said ' in the World, you will have tribulations but rejoice for l have overcome. 

The power of the Believer to overcome in within and not without

The Joy within which is not a product of what you did but a reward for What Jesus Christ did for you is given to the believer to insulate you from every fiery darts and attack of the Enemy. This is why Jesus Christ, our LORD could endure the cross because of the joy set before Him, Daniel could enter the Lion's Den.

The only service and worship acceptable to God is the sacrifice offered with gladness of heart.

A song writer wrote in a hymn

Lets us with a gladsome mind

Praise thy LORD for He is Kind

For His mercy shall endure

Ever faithful and ever true

God gave you The Spirit of Joy because you must serve and worship with gladness for your service to be acceptable.

TIPS FOR REJOIVING ALWAYS

1. Joy is a gift fro. God and it's is not dependable on favourable or unfavourable conditions. Joy is not extreme happiness got as a result of been drunk with wine, and acquisitions of properties etc. It is a supernatural outflow of the Holy Spirit  available to every believer.

"DO NOT GET DRUNK on WINE, which leads to debauchery. INSTEAD, BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. You must practise the habit of staying in the Presence of God  through the study of the Word and a daily worship life to access the joy of the Spirit

" You will fill me with JOY in your PRESENCE. Actsb2;28

" Perfume and incense  bring JOY to the heart. Proverbs 27:9

 Perfume and incense are symbols of worshipping God.. a song writer wrote

Like oil upon your feet

Like wine for you to drink

Liike water from my eyes

I pour my love on you

If PRAISE IS LIKE PERFUME

I lavish mine on you

Till every drop is gone

I pour my love on you

3.Endeavour to know the Holy Spirit and walk in the Spirit. He is the SOURCE of your Life and Joy!

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:51

A.L. Hephzibah.

InSpired

HAPPINESS IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL

Reaction and response to issues and your thoughts   determine your feelings per time. When you  release positive feelings on an issue, happiness is birthed but if you choose to release a negative response to an event then sorrow is the result.

 Happiness or Sadness is all about reactions, responses; It means it can be managed. If you guide your  responses to things based on the stipulations of scriptural provision, you can keep sadness away at all times and serve the LORD' s purpose in this generation with joy and happiness.

People have pre-grammed data stored in their minds on how to cope with various issues that occur in their life- time. These information are cumulated over time from experiences, cultural beliefs, books and exposures etc.

For King David, disappointments always birthed a New Psalm. He pours out his negative feelings through his writing.

Some Psalms reveals that David was not so easy on his enemies  ( Psalm 109, Psalm 5) while other Psalm reveals that he had learnt to praise God in difficult times..  (Psalm 3, Psalm 7). And when David was happy, such as Pslam 8, 18 were birthed. When he was grateful, (Pslam 100-104 ) reflected his thoughts.

Singing and writing was David's way of expressing the tumult in his Soul. The Scriptures advises on what our reaction should be on different circumstances that may present itself.

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

 IS ANYONE HAPPY? LET THEM SING SONGS OF PRAISE.

 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord" James 5;13-14

Happiness has a voice and a  face, it has an atmosphere, it can be seen and touched and it flows from the soul. The soul is the seat of both sorrow and happiness, you determine which river flows out of you.

"Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter?" James 3:11

King Solomon on the other hand dealt with the vacuum in his soul  by giving himself to pleasure, wine, projects  and of course more women.  Yet he was not happy, the fear of dying and leaving all his achievements behind plagued his soul. ( The Book of Eccl.)

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 

“Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?”

 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly —my mind still guiding me with wisdom. 

I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ..... 

I bought male and female slaves .........I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.

 I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart.

 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.

 My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Eccl 2.

Leah is happy whenever she does or achieve anything that she felt will  make her husband love her.

She did not discover  what makes her husband truly happy , she assumed giving him sons would make him happy yet after four sons, the attention and heart  of  Jacob was not solely hers.

Then she resolved to make God her Source of true happiness.

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. Genesis 29:35

We must make God our Source of true happiness. God has given us joy as a gift but we must also learn to make Him the source of our happiness.

A.L Hephzibah.

InSpired

PROGRAMMED FOR SORROW:

 HOW .CHRIST.DELIVERED  ME!

My background programmed me for  a lifetime of sorrow. Sadness  was to me as an unavoidable companion.

 I know my case is not special  because  there are millions out in the Society  with worse ordeal but l share mine to tell of the goodness of God to me and how he delivered my Soul from Sorrow. 

It was as if the devil. programmed my life and destiny .for sorrow of heart from its inception. But praise God that Jesus Christ found me and gave me everlasting joy!

I am the last daughter in the family and l had only one sibling, a believer who died giving birth to her last son.  I was born in Ajegunle, Lagos State. 

Most of my.childhoid narration, l got from my late father especially the account of how my mother left him for another man.  But l did not have the opportunity to meet my mother to give an account of her own side of the narrative. 

Any hurting man may give an account to justify his actions so we may need a second narrative to get the true picture of events 

My father told me that my mother wanted to leave him for another man when she was carrying my  pregnancy but family intervention made her  stayed until l was age three ( or thereabout) when they legally divorced in a law court. This bitterness  of heart caused him to completely  cut off any communication with my mother  or her family.

So as a girl and till date, l don't know my mother's maiden name; l don't know any member of her family and l can't possibly remember or recognise her if l meet her on the Street.

I harboured unforgiveness towards a mother l never knew.  As a girl, l usually tell  people my mother is dead, and l told that story for so long, that l did not bother to change it  as an adult.

A mother,  you can either rrecognise or have   met any of her family or even know their name to be able to trace them is certainly dead to you.

So  between age three,-five;  l was  taken up by my late Aunty ( my father's elder sister ), who lived in Festac while my late sister was taken to Sapele to live with another aunty. This separation in location also influenced our future:  From Festac to Isolo when my Aunty's daughter got married then to Orile, to Oshodi and then to live with a Moslem family who were not relatives when my aunty relocated with her husband, then back to my father as a teen

All aunties were kind and brought me up as a daughter so sorrow was kept locked up for a while.. But my aunty had to make the decision to return me to my father to encourage him to remarry and spend his income wisely. The door to the hell of sorrow was throw open and it almost drowned me .

Though my late father did his best  to nurture his kids but his best was ruled by a wrong parenting mindset. Obviously, he was also fighting his demons.  He had to turn to alcohol to silent the sorrow in his Soul. 

He remained unmarried till his death;  he was an absentee father who only came home once or twice a month, to give stipends that last only a few days or thereabout.

 He believed everyman for himself and extended this mindset to his kids.  He is fond  of saying " I don't need any child to take care of me when l am old, '. Therefore he saw no need to care for his children. ( This is a selfish mindset programmed by hell). So my beautiful late sister  became the bread winner for the family for a while.

HOW I TRIED TO DEAL WITH SORROW NATURALLY.

I started my sorrow therapy  as a teenager by turning to reading novels. l was addicted to Mills and Boon, Harlequin, Pacesetters etc as a means to silent the pains and sorrow in my heart.

While my late -father turned to alcohol to deal with sorrow, l turned to romantic novels and secular love songs I was looking for happiness in the wrong places  and got it in this "Happily Ever" songs and novels.. 

Also, I tried to deal with sorrow with food.  Hunger and starvation were a part of my teen, so food became my natural saviour anytime l was sad even as a believer. 

Anytime, l was sad and depressed as an adult , l would go to an Eatery and buy my heart's delight with compulsory ice-cream. The meal is not complete without a creamy  salad and  ice-cream. 

Automatically, l feel a momentarily  happiness that does not deal with the root problem of sorrow. 

TO BE CONTINUED

A.L. Hephzibah.

 

INsPIRED

HEAVY OR EASY? BURDEN

YOUR CHOICE!

Happiness is a mindset and not a gift. It is believed that there are catalysts for happiness, things you can see or do that bring instant Happiness.

But in my opinion and has supported by the Bible, the greatest SOURCE of happiness is the Loving Father who is the Almighty God. 

And the greatest catalyst for happiness is His Word, teaching and guidance given by the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 32:8 says

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."

God is loving and all His actions are inspired by Love-His rebuke, judgments and guidances have their root in His Love. 

He desires the best,  Life can offer you and He is doing all within His might to ensure that you enjoy His provisions and blessings.

But to access all these, you must learn from Him for His only motive for relating with humanity is LOVE. 

Jesus said

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"

When you refuse to take the burden of your Father, then know that you will surely carry the burden of Satan, the enemy and be controlled by His yoke.

I pray this new week will be filled with awesome testimonies as you wait on the LORD for His GUIDANCE given in LOVE .

HAPPY SUNDAY

A. L. HEPHZIBAH

InSpired

THE UNSPEAKABLE JOY WITHIN YOU

The benevolent Father has given every believer all we need for life and godliness.

The Life of the Holy Spirit housed in the Human Spirit is God the Almighty bottled up in the spirit of man and may never find full expressions unless He is allowed by you.

Joy!, such unspeakable Joy is the inheritance of every Christian. Irrespective of the circumstances that surrounds you at anytime.

You are ordained to reach for the life of God in your Spirit and allow the Joy within ( the fruit of the Holy Spirit) overwhelm the sorrow that your circumstances may want to bring to your Soul.

A SONG

SUCH JOY!

Verse 1

There is a peace that floods my Soul

When the Spirit of thy LORD is in control

There is a joy, no bound can hold

When Spirit blow a fresh wind through my Soul

Holy Spirit flow through me

Touch my heart and there will be

 Such joy, such unspeakable joy

Such peace , an everlasting peace

Such love, pure and holy love

Spirit have your way in me.

Joy is an outflow of heart filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:51) It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and is the right of every believer.

Jesus Christ, our LORD said ' in the World, you will have tribulations but rejoice for l have overcome.

The power of the Believer to overcome is within and not without, The Holy Spirit is all you need for a victorious life.

The Joy within which is not a product of what you did but a reward for What Jesus Christ did for you is given to the believer to insulate you from every fiery darts and attack of the Enemy. 

This is why Jesus Christ, our LORD could endure the cross because of the joy set before Him, Daniel could enter the Lion's Den.

The only service and worship acceptable to God is the sacrifice offered with gladness of heart.  

"Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king." Psalm 45:15

"Psalm 100 

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 

WORSHIP THE LORD WITH GLADNESS; COME BEFORE HIM WITH JOYFUL SONGS. ......

 Enter HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING AND HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE; 

give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

A song writer wrote in a hymn

"Lets us with a gladsome heart

Praise thy LORD for He is Kind

For His mercy shall endure

Ever faithful and ever true

God gave you The Spirit of Joy because you must serve and worship with gladness for your service to be acceptable. He knows that situation will arise in your family, career, ministry, relationships that may want to steal your joy and song. So He gave you His Joy, unconditionally. Reach out always for it.

SOME TIPS FOR REJOICING ALWAYS

1. Joy is a gift from. God and it's is not dependable on favourable or unfavourable conditions. Joy is not just the extreme happiness got as a result of been drunk with wine, and acquisitions of properties etc. It is a supernatural outflow of the Holy Spirit available to every believer.

"DO NOT GET DRUNK on WINE, which leads to debauchery. INSTEAD, BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. You must practise the habit of staying in the Presence of God through the study of the Word and a daily worship life to access the joy of the Spirit

" You will fill me with JOY in your PRESENCE. Acts 2;28

" Perfume and incense bring JOY to the heart. Proverbs 27:9

 Perfume and incense are symbols of worshipping God.. a song writer wrote

"Like oil upon your feet

Like wine for you to drink

Liike water from my eyes

I pour my love on you

If PRAISE IS LIKE PERFUME

I lavish mine on you

Till every drop is gone

I pour my love on you

3.Endeavour to know the Holy Spirit and walk in the Spirit. He is the SOURCE of your Life and Joy!

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:51

4. Always ensure the confession of your mouth aligns with the joy within. Never confess sorrow based on the unfavourable conditions you see. Rather speak aloud " l have joy Like a river that floods my soul now, continue until you dispel the sorrow in the Soul"

A.L. Hephzibah.