February 9: Heavenly Happiness.

God Delights in the Prayer of the Upright.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.--Proverbs 15:8, NKJV

EVERY SOUL has the privilege of stating to the Lord his own special necessities and to offer his individual thanksgiving for the blessings that he daily receives.  But the many long and spiritless, faithless prayers that are offered to God, instead of being a joy to Him, are a burden.  We need, oh, so much! clean, converted hearts.  We need to have our faith strengthened.  "Ask, and it shall be given you," the Saviour promised; "seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."  Matthew 7:7.  We need to educate ourselves to trust in this word and to bring the light and grace of Christ into all our works.  We need to take hold of Christ and to retain our hold of Him until we know that the power of His transforming grace is manifested in us.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, 278.

God wants His children to ask for those things that will enable Him to reveal His grace through them to the world.  He wants them to seek His counsel, to acknowledge His power.  Christ lays loving claims on all for whom He has given life; they are to obey His will if they would share the joys that He has prepared for all who reflect His character here.  It is well for us to feel our weakness, for then we shall seek the strength and wisdom that the Father delights to give to His children for their daily strife against the powers of evil.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, 284.

                                        But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
                                            for my power is made perfect in weakness."
                                    Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
                                                 so that Christ's power may rest on me.
                                        That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses,
                                         in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
                                                  For when I am weak, then I am strong.
                              
                                                                    --2 Corinthians 12:9, 10, NIV

February 8: Heavenly Happiness.

In His Church
"For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty saviour.  He will take delight in you with gladness.  With his love, he will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."--Zephaniah 3:17, NLT

THE ELECT OF GOD are dear to His heart.  They are those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, to show forth His praise, to shine as lights amid the darkness of the world.  The unjust judge had no special interest in the widow who importuned him for deliverance; yet in order to rid himself of her pitiful appeals, he heard her plea, and delivered her from her adversary.  But God loves His children with infinite love.  To Him the dearest object on earth is His church.--Christ's Object Lessons, 165.

During ages of spiritual darkness the church of God has been as a city set on a hill.  From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders.  Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard.  It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.--The Acts of the Apostles, 12.

                        "You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
                    Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand,
           and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others,
           so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
                                                                                                    --Matthew 5:14-16, ESV

                          I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,
                       if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God,
                          which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
                                                                                                    --1 Timothy 3:14, 15, ESV

February 7: Heavenly Happiness

God Rejoices in His Chosen People.
No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.--Isaiah 62:4, NIV

IF WE ARE FAITHFUL and obedient, God will delight is us, and bless us as His own chosen peculiar people.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 693.

The Lord has joined His people to Himself by a solemn covenant, He promising to be their God, and they pledging themselves to be His and His alone.  He declares: "I will betroth thee unto Me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies."  Hosea 2:19.  And, again: "I am married unto you."  Jeremiah 3:14.  And Paul employs the same figure in the New Testament when he says: "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."  2 Corinthians 11:2.--The Great Controversy, 381.

                         For as a young man marries a young woman,
                                    so shall your builder marry you,
                         and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
                                    so shall your God rejoice over you.
                                                                                 --Isaiah 62:5, NRSV

                                                  Husbands, love your wives,
                                    just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
                                                                     --Ephesians 5:25, NRSV

February 6: Heavenly Happiness.

We Are His Representatives.
"Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today."--Deuteronomy 10:15, NRSV

GOD DESIRED TO MAKE of His people Israel a praise and a glory.  Every spiritual advantage was given them.  God withheld from them nothing favorable to the formation of character that would make them representatives of Himself.

Their obedience to the laws of God would make them marvels of prosperity before the nations of the world.  He who could give them wisdom and skill in all cunning work would continue to be their teacher and would ennoble and elevate them through obedience to His laws.  If obedient, they would be preserved from the diseases that afflicted other nations and would be blessed with vigor of intellect.  The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity.  They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes.  God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, 221, 222.

Through Israel it was His design to impart rich blessings to all people.  Through them the way was to be prepared for the diffusion of His light to the whole world.--Testimonies for the Church, 221.


"His glory is His children's good; his joy, His tender Fatherhood."--Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 77.

                              But you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation,
                                  These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites."
                                                                                                   --Exodus 19:6, NRSV

February 5: Heavenly Happiness.

God Rejoices to Bestow Blessings.
"They shall be my people, and I will be their God....Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul."--Jeremiah 32:38, 41, NKJV

CHRIST'S LOVE for His children is as tender as it is strong.  And it is stronger than death; for He died to purchase our salvation, and to make us one with Him, mystically and eternally one.  So strong is His love that it controls all His powers, and employs the vast resources of heaven in doing His people good.  It is without variableness or shadow of turning--the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Although sin has existed for ages, trying to counteract this love and obstruct its flowing earthward, it still flows in rich currents to those for whom Christ died.

God loves the sinless angels, who do His service and are obedient to all His commands; but He does not give them grace; they have never needed it, for they have never sinned.  Grace is an attribute shown to undeserving human beings.  We did not seek after it; it was sent in search of us.  God rejoices to bestow grace upon all who hunger and thirst for it, not because we are worthy, but because we are unworthy.--Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 519.

                        For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
                                    it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
                             For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
                                   which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
                              
                                                                        --Ephesians  2:8-10, NKJV

February 4: Heavenly Happiness

God Is Pleased When We Seek the Savior.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!--Psalm 40:13, NKJV

THE SAVIOUR LONGS to manifest His grace and stamp His character on the whole world.  It is His purchased possession, and He desires to make men free, and pure, and holy.  Though Satan works to hinder this purpose, yet through the blood shed for the world there are triumphs to be achieved that will bring glory to God and the Lamb.  Christ will not be satisfied till the victory is complete, and "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied."  Isaiah 53:11.--The Desire of Ages, 827.

Desponding soul, take courage, even though you have done wickedly.  Do not think that perhaps God will pardon your transgressions and permit you to come into His presence.  God has made the first advance.  While you were in rebellion against Him, He went forth to seek you.  With the tender heart of the shepherd He left the ninety and nine and went out into the wilderness to find that which was lost.  The soul, bruised and wounded and ready to perish, He encircles in His arms of love and joyfully bears it to the fold of safety.--Christ's Object Lessons, 188.

                                             For evils have encompassed me
                                                             beyond number;
                                            my iniquities have overtaken me,
                                                             and I cannot see;
                                         they are more than the hairs of my head;
                                                            my heart fails me.
                                             Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
                                              O Lord, make haste to help me!
                              
                                                          --Psalm 40:12, 13, ESV

February 3: Heavenly Happiness.

Christ, the Delight of the Father.
"I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.  And when he marked off the earth's foundations, I was the architect at his side.  I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence."--Proverbs 8:29, 30, NLT

THE SOVEREIGN OF THE UNIVERSE was not alone in His work of beneficence.  He had an associate--a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God."  John 1:1, 2.  Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father--one in nature, in character, in purpose--the only being that could enter into all the councils and purposes of God.  "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6...And the Son of God declared concerning Himself: "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.  I was set up from everlasting....When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him."  Proverbs 8:22-30.--Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.

                                   He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
                                        For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
                             visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--
                                                  all things were created through him and for him.
                                      And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
                              
                                                                  --Colossians 1:15-17, ESV

February 2: Heavenly Happiness.

Satisfied With His Works.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works.--Psalm 104:31, NKJV

HEAVEN AND EARTH were filled with rejoicing.  "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."  Job 38:7.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, 349.

The creation was now complete.  "The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them."...Eden bloomed on earth....No taint of sin or shadow of death marred the fair creation....

The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created all the wonders of the land and the sea.--Patriarchs and Prophets, 47.

Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven.  "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;" and He rested in the joy of His completed work.--The Desire of Ages, 281.

                                              "You are worthy, O Lord,
                                       To receive glory and honor and power;
                                               For You created all things,
                                    And by Your will they exist and were created."
                                                                           --Revelation 4:11, NKJV

                                  God  saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
                                                                                             --Genesis 1:31, NIV

February 1: Heavenly Happiness.

Heaven Rejoices Over Repentant Sinners.
"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."--Luke 15:7, NKJV

HEAVEN IS FULL OF JOY.  It responds with the praises of Him who made so wonderful a sacrifice for the redemption of the human race.  Should not the church on earth be full of praise?  Should not Christians publish throughout the world the joy of serving Christ?  Those who in heaven join with the angelic choir in their anthems of praise must learn on earth the song of heaven, the keynote of which is thanksgiving.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, 244.

Everything in heaven is noble and elevated.  All seek the interest and happiness of others.  No one devotes himself to looking out and caring for self.  It is the chief joy of all holy beings to witness the joy and happiness of those around them.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 238.

There is no jar, no discord, there.  All is health, happiness, and joy.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 81.

                "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them,
              does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost

              until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
                   And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors,
               saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "
                                                                                              --Luke 15:4-6, NKJV