Finally, let us see the happiness, which is to be enjoyed. With worry removed from our anxious hearts, in place of worry, Paul says, we receive “…the peace of God which transcends all understanding…,” Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 7. “Peace” is order out of chaos. It is calm after a violent storm. It is ease after pain. It is rest after toil. It is sunshine after darkness. It is harmony after conflict. Such is the peace which transcends, or, again, as the old King James Version of the Bible translates it, “passeth” ALL understanding—that is, it surpasses ALL that men can conceive or imagine. Only GOD can comprehend it in His illimitable pulse.

Paul assures us that this peace “…will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” David said, “The Lord watches over you; the Lord is your shade at your right hand,” Psalm 121, verse 5. And Solomon says, “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are saved,” Proverbs 18, verse 10. Isaiah said, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You,” Isaiah 26, and verse 3. And in the New Testament, Jude writes, “To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—,” Jude, verse 24.

And this wonderful promise, which we just read about in the book of Jude, is prefaced by the requirement, in Jude, verse 21, to “Keep yourselves in God’s love…” God will only keep those people who keep themselves IN His love. John says, in 1 John 5, and verse 3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.”

We keep ourselves in God’s love by keeping with His commandments AND we are kept in God’s love by His gracious mercy and His great power. This enables us to say, along with Paul, “…If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8, and verse 31.

And let’s notice, too, that this peace which transcends all understanding is through Christ, NOT through our own ability, not through our own power or through our own merit, but this peace which transcends all understanding is THROUGH Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, let’s remember that worry is a thief which, if permitted to flourish, will rob us of our Christian vitality and happiness in this life AND may be responsible for robbing us of the joys of heaven in the hereafter. And we can avoid the evil of worry through constant prayer, petition and thanksgiving and be partakers of the happiness and joy which God intends for us.

Are you a possessor of this happiness? If not, then you have not entered into the true spirit of Christianity. Perhaps the problem is that you have too much attachment to things in the world, and you are not trusting in God’s providence to care for your needs. This very hour, let’s decide to put God and His kingdom FIRST in our lives.