Hennie Symington

Lord, you have assigned met my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6

I believe that no-one can guarantee happiness. Even the constitution of our land cannot guarantee that, even though it guarantees your right to pursue happiness. Yet, we are all addicted to happiness, or the idea of happiness. We love happy endings where everything turns out exactly as it was planned. We aspire to the highest places and just like the disciples who wanted to pitch their tent on the Mount of Transfiguration, and heaven help those who remain behind. We yearn for the moment in the garden when everything is as it was meant to be. We have been so conditioned by TV dramas with their happy endingsthat we cannot accept that life does not always go smoothly. In our quest for happiness we often find ourselves in an endless labyrinth as the victims of countless failures, misconceptions and false ideas of what constitutes true happiness.

Happiness is to be found where your find yourself. Happiness is to be at home in the moment and to acknowledge your emotions, both negative and positive. Gather up the guilt, self-hatred, the times that you stomped around like an elephant in a flowerbed, stepping on peoples’ feelings, the times that you played hardball and followed your own head and regretted it, in fact, everything that bothers you. Place it in God’s hand and feel the weight being lifted off your shoulders. Remember, you are not alone in your brokenness: the entire human race is touched by the aftershocks of the Fall.

God offers so much more. Seek the kingdom of God first ‒ instead of all the trappings of a successful life ‒ and everything will be added unto you. And as part of the deal, comes an age-old guarantee which never expires: God cares for you. You are safe on the palm of Gods hand. And just to make absolutely sure, He gave his Son as a guarantee that will never expire.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you moved heaven and earth to save is from a life with outshout hope. Thank you that you sent your beloved Son who became like one of us, to bring heaven close to us. Amen.