"Happy" New Year

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. Psalm 33:12

O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

You’ll be able to tell from what follows that I wrote this some time ago. The truth of all that experience continues in the chaos of present events, so please read on.

From December 28th to January 3rd, everyone I saw said, “Happy New Year.” It was a cheery, heartfelt greeting, but there was some irony too. We were still in the middle of a pandemic that was making hospital services difficult, in some cases impossible. The government was unstable, to put it mildly, and that was about to get worse. People were becoming weary of wearing masks and depressed at the thought that they had no idea when they could  see loved ones on anything but a computer or cell phone screen.

All of these thoughts took me to that word – happy. What makes you happy? Is it as we hear from the “Peanuts” world, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” Really? OK, let’s move from the cartoon world to the real one. I have listed just two of the Scripture verses I found when I looked up the word. The first is one I held close to my heart as I viewed the outrageous behavior on January 6. Are we a nation of people God has chosen as his heritage? If so, we must behave that way. Enough said.

It is the Psalm 34 reference that I believe speaks of true, deep happiness. “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) There have been many events during my lifetime that have caused me to go to God, my refuge. There were national tragedies like the assassination of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the fear caused by the events of September 11, 2001 and the more recent assault on the U. S. capitol. Personal experiences like my mother’s battle with cancer and my son’s accident that brought him to the brink of death shook me to the core. Without a life of prayer, where would I be? It is the personal relationship with God, our Lord and Savior and the urging of the Holy Spirit that brings me from despair to lasting happiness and personal peace. When the events of a day threaten that happiness, I must go within to the place where I meet God and just listen. “O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”

Lord Jesus, God and King, Spirit of Truth, lead us to that holy ground where we can hear you speak. Help us to stay our minds there. Help us to find true happiness that comes where we meet together. Amen.

                                                                    Sue Uzelmeier