Psalms 149:2
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Tag: Our “Happiness” is in Our Relationship with our Maker
God has given us all we need in life to be happy. The Hebrew word in the above text for “glad” is:
śâmaḥ; a primitive root; probably to brighten up, i.e. (figuratively) be (causatively, make) blithe or gleesome: — cheer up, be (make) glad, (have, make) joy(-ful), be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice, x very. (Vine)
Samah carries this concept of happiness or gleesome. In today’s world we have people trying to get their “brightness” their happiness from a lot of different places. Recently a client of mine told me he wants everyone at his work to be “happy.” I asked him why he thought that was something he wanted and he stated, “work should make you happy.” I would not argue with the hope that work could make you happy but I would argue that this is our goal. God said in Genesis 3:19 that “work” for Adam, because of his sin, would be by the “sweat of his brow.” So, happiness is not found in work. Now, we (believers) have been restored thought Justification, so God can and is restoring us to preface status. But, happiness is not derived from external sources. Happiness is obtained by our relationship with our Maker; as the above verse from Psalms 149 states. The writer is telling us that the source of our strength and the reason for our outward manifestation of that strength is our relationship with our “Maker.” We ought not try to find happiness in our jobs, our possessions, our wealth, our “year end report,” or our human relationships. Those can give us a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. But, only a relationship with our Maker can give us long term and stable “samah,” brightness on our face.
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