Happiness

My bible study is doing a new study and I couldn't be more excited, especially after reading the first chapter. Its going to be a good one! The book is called "True Happiness", its a collection of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermons on Psalm 1 and Psalm 107. Just recently I posted, in this post with excerpts from Psalm 107. Such a great Psalm.

Its no secret that the Lord has continually used the Psalms in my life. Months before becoming a believer, the holy spirit used David's Psalms to convict my heart of the sin within and teach me how to cry out in repentance. Years ago I took a class at Seminary Wives Institute on Spiritual Disciplines taught by Dr. Donald Whitney. It was there that I learned Whitney's 5 a day method of praying through Psalms.  This was revolutionary for my quiet times and learning how to pray scripture. I haven't stopped using this method since! And recently the Lord has rekindled my love for the Psalms in using them to encourage my heart in healing after each miscarriage. The Psalms are and will probably always be apart of my morning quiet time and now, with this study I am so excited to study and memorize and study, with my girl friends, Psalm 1 and 107.

What I wasn't prepared for was just how amazing Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermons would be!! I have been so deeply encouraged that even though these sermons were written in 1963 and 1955, they are still so applicable. Because, and as Lloyd-Jones points out, "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecc. 1:9).

God is not surprised at the world and its sin. Or our pain and suffering therein. Here are few excerpts from the book that I have found very fitting to my personal life, right now.

"Life is a tragedy. The truth appears everywhere; it is all around us, and it is the great problem and the quest of human beings. People are searching for happiness because they find themselves in the midst of tragedy. But so many come to the conclusion that their quest is impossible, with the only outcome that often depicted so brilliantly by Shakespeare- the last scene with almost everybody being killed. That is the end of it all- tragedy. (True Happiness, pg. 14)........

......."The Bible answers all that and denies it. It says, "Yes, what you've been saying is true in a sense, but you've left out the most important factor: GOD!" "Blessed is the man...." (Psalm 1:1a) Happiness is possible even in this world . "Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?" "YES" "The blood of Jesus whispers peace within." This is a great protest against the despair, the hopelessness, the cynicism of a world without God."  (True Happiness, pg. 15, 16)

I feel I am experiencing a "tragedy" in my own life now, as I mourn the two babies we lost. However, and that is a big HOWEVER....I have been SO SO encouraged, as I have already blogged about, the "perfect peace" I have within. Again I will say, its because of Christ and the freedom I have in my relationship with Him. The freedom I have to look forward to my inheritance in Him, being called a daughter of the King and also drawing from the ever-flowing fountain of compassion God has drowned me with, during this "tragedy". He hasn't left my side.

Just thought I'd share another way God has been so good in ministering to my weary soul in bringing this Bible Study/ Book into my life and during this season.  I hope Jone's words (shared above) have been an encouragement to your heart as well.