Happy and Joyful People Remember The Past and The Future

Happy and Joyful People Remember
The Past and The Future

Psalm 126
Pastor Terry Wilcox

Psalm 126:2 ESV

Assyria took the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity in 721 B.C. and Babylon did the same to the Southern Kingdom 34 years later in 68 B.C.

Christians on the road of faith traveling toward eternity with God are happy and joyous because they look back on victories! 

CAUTION:  Although laughter and singing are often the responses of God’s happy people, they are not a requirement.

Happiness is an emotion in which we experience feelings like contentment, satisfaction, bliss, and pleasure. 

Happiness is ephemeral. It is temporary, short-lived, fleeting. 

Happiness -vs- Joy

Happiness is an outward expression.
Joy is an inner feeling.

Happiness is externally dependent.
Joy is an inside job.

Happiness is a feeling based on circumstances.
Joy is an attitude that defies circumstances.

Happiness is fleeting.
Joy is something more selfless, we have joy when it is not simply for personal gain. 

John 15:9-15

Hebrews 12:2-3

Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing.  For to miss the joy is to miss all.
-Robert Louis Stevenson

The Past and The Future

Psalm 126:4-6

Verse 4 is a prayer and then he speaks prophetically.

Sowing is about the future, planning, and preparing for it.

Israel’s joy had history, as does ours.

Joy is nurtured by living such history and building on that foundation. 

Joy is nurtured by anticipation.

Happiness and laughter result from pleasant circumstances.

The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
-Russel M. Nelson

John 12:24-25

Philippians 4:4-5 MSG

Personal Notes