The Biblical Formula for Happiness

Happy are those who obey the Lord, who live by his commands (Psalm 128:1, GNT).

God wants us to be happy. The Bible doesn’t portray a dour God who wants to pour sour milk over our fun.  

In God’s Word, most translations use the words “blessed” or “joy” instead of happiness.  

The GNT (Good News Translation) version says, “Happy are those who obey the Lord.” The English Standard Version (ESV) translates, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,” and the New Living Translation (NLT) says, “How joyful are those who fear the Lord.”

Happy, blessed, and joyful — I want these words to describe my life. How about you?

God doesn’t ruin our lives with rules. But His joy isn’t found in the fleshly pursuits that many describe as “having fun.”  

How do we find happiness?

The Bible gives a simple formula for blessed, joyful, or happy. Think — TSA. Again —  TSA! Or Think, Speak, Act. 

We should be able to remember TSA because, in airports, we pass by the dour and sour TSA agents at security checkpoints.

Think …

Happiness begins with your thought life.

One writer that I read recently said that the most resilient virus in the body is not something like COVID-19 but a negative thought. He wrote, “An idea is almost impossible to eradicate.”

“Almost impossible,” but …

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26, NLT).

I’ve found that meditating on a verse of Scripture that states the opposite of a negative thought overwrites negativity with the power of Spirit positivity!

Speak … 

In my darkest moments, when I praise God, I find light. 

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you (Psalm 139:11-12, ESV).

Speaking about God’s goodness and singing His praises can repave unhappiness with joy.

Actions … 

Do not be fooled by thinking that over-achievement can be happiness. Shawn Achor, in his book The Happiness Advantage, writes …

Thanks to cutting-edge science, we now know that happiness is the precursor to success, not merely the result. And that happiness and optimism actually fuel performance and achievement — giving us the competitive edge that I call the Happiness Advantage.

We can’t manufacture happiness by working harder. But we can rest in God, Who is the source of joy, and then obey His will.

That’s it, a Biblical formula for happiness — TSA, or Think, Speak, Act.  

Try it, and the next time you see a TSA agent at a security checkpoint, smile and praise God as you get a full body pat-down and then have every piece of clothing in your carefully packed carry-on pulled out and dumped on a counter.

Remember TSA, TSA, TSA! Turn the negative into the positive!