April 2026 Reflections From Dave's Corner Of The World

The Primary Duty Of Being Happy In The Lord

The following is a quote from George Muller, a Godly man of faith in the Lord from whom I have learned a lot through reading biographies about him.  He was the founder of five orphan homes in Bristol, England, in the mid 1800’s that served over 10,000 children over the years.  It is inspiring to study his life, as he was a man of strong faith and a close relationship with the Lord. 

“According to my judgement the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. This has been my firm and settled condition for the last five and thirty years. For the first four years after my conversion I knew not its vast importance, but now after much experience I specially commend this point to the notice of my younger brethren and sisters in Christ: the secret of all true effectual service is joy in God, having experimental acquaintance and fellowship with God Himself.”

I love sharing with our guests, at A Ray of Hope, that the greatest thing we can ever accomplish in our lives, is simply falling in love with God.  It’s free, there is no charge, and even the poorest can afford it.  It’s simple:  just pursue and invest time in Him and it will come (John 14:23).  He is beautifully loving, and as we get to know Him, we are drawn to Him.  As we fall in love with Him, we come to want to obey Him out of our love for Him.  Our dread of obedience, becomes the love of our heart.  What we couldn’t do, because we had to, we are able to do, because we want to.  Love changes everything, doesn’t it? 

Mat 22:36-40;  “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” 

ALL of God’s Word is simply trying to get us to love Him and our neighbor.  Interestingly enough, it’s easier to do if we focus on loving God rather than obeying God.  When I focus on obedience, I struggle.  When I am feeling His love, I am inspired to love Him in return.  So the Lord knows that if He has our heart, the rest will follow.  And, as George Muller pointed out, pursue a joy in the Lord Himself and the rest flows from our joy.

Years ago I was Director of Missions at our church, working with over 40 missionaries.  I spent a great deal of time helping missionaries overcome their struggles with each other.  I found a common thread in every mediation that I conducted: the missionaries would get so caught up in reaching their goals, that if they believed others were causing them problems, they were willing to trample over them.  All too often, in their zeal to show the world the love of the Lord, they couldn’t even love their co-workers in the Lord.  How do you share the love of the Lord that is not present in your own life and relationships?  You can’t!

These mediations taught me that our greater focus must be on loving the Lord and our neighbor, and trusting the Lord to bring about His conclusions in His time.  Having this trust of God to accomplish goals shows our faith, particularly if we are struggling with compromise in the process.  Life will still have trials, but faith knows that how we walk through the trials is of critical importance.  Our love for the Lord and others is what brings Him glory, not our accomplishments.  God is glorified as we focus on loving and honoring Him in the process and walking in faith, trusting Him with the conclusions.

Our best witness to our enemies comes through loving them.  Our best witness to our transgressors comes through forgiving them.  Our best witness to a lost and seeking world is our genuine joy and happiness in the Lord.  People know if our love is real.  We don’t put on Jesus, we either Love Him or we don’t.  That Love and Joy in the Lord is our goal, if we accomplish that, we will please our Lord.  We will have accomplished the highest will and desire of God, by simply Loving Him!  We can be filled and satisfied by simply hungering and thirsting after Him.  We can do the right thing, and while others may still find fault, we must still do the right thing and in doing so, we please the Lord.

This happiness, or should I say Joy in the Lord doesn’t just happen, it comes with time, reading His word, meditation, prayer, practice, and failures along the road.  Love, joy, peace, patience and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit, come from having the right focus of our time and efforts with God.  Jesus lived in this natural world, but His focus was on the heart and will of the Father.  George Muller said; “Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life.”  How true!  And, “the secret of all true effectual service is joy in God, having experimental acquaintance and fellowship with God Himself.”  His relationship with God was no accident or coincidence, it was a deliberate pursuit and effort to get to know Him and walk with Him.  Gaining the firm foundation and blessings of God requires the deliberate efforts of man.

We can have His peace and joy even when it doesn’t exist around us.  This comes through looking past our circumstances and keeping our eyes on Jesus.  Good relationships are great accomplishments, and they begin by keeping a good relationship with God.  Loving as He loves will always keep us in His will and truth, so even when circumstances are not favorable, we will be in His favorable love.  Amen?  Amen!  Dave.