Happiness Is...The Fear of the LORD (Proverbs 28:14)
Listen Here:
Proverbs 28:14
Blessed (Happy) is the one who fears the Lord always,
but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
My mom has this phrase she says all the time: “Happiness is.” She’ll say it in the middle of a sweet moment with our family, or when one of our dogs does something funny or cute. It’s her way of capturing the small, everyday joys that make life rich. And I love that.
But it also makes me think – what do we define happiness as? Because depending on where we look for it, we might find something that lasts… or something that disappears the moment life gets hard.
Most people don’t even realize it, but the world has already handed them a definition of happiness. And it’s always tied to something temporary.
The world says happiness is…
Position (where you stand in life)
Prosperity (how much you own)
Pleasure (the experiences one has)
People/Praise (how much you're admired)
Power (how much control you have)
Perspicacity (how much knowledge you have)
But God says happiness is… the Person and Presence of Jesus Christ.
And this is where we get it twisted. Sadly, in today’s culture, reverence and happiness are rarely spoken of together. The reverent man – the one who lives in submission to God – is often thought to be constrained, unhappy, and unpleasant. People hear “fear of the Lord” and think, Ohh no, that sounds spooky and oppressive.
But it’s actually the opposite.
To the extent that one can be always reverent, abounding in the fear of the Lord, he can be genuinely free – and as this verse describes, happy and blessed.
Happiness is… living in the fear of the Lord.
And this isn’t just an idea to agree with. It’s something you have to experience. The psalmist says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Because until you do, you won’t believe that living according to His will and His way – not yours, not the world's – is actually the most joy-filled way to live.
But here’s the danger: We can close our hearts to this truth. And we do.
Every time we hear the Word of God – the Gospel of Jesus Christ – we have a choice:
We can receive it with humility (as James 1 tells us).
Or we can harden our hearts and close ourselves off.
And here’s the scary part. Hardening your heart doesn’t usually happen all at once. It’s gradual. It starts small – ignoring conviction, choosing comfort over obedience, dismissing Scripture because it feels inconvenient. But over time, those choices pile up. And before you know it, your heart is like stone – you hear the truth, but it doesn’t move you anymore.
And the one who hardens his heart? This verse says he will fall into calamity.
So here are my questions for you today:
If I asked your closest friends what makes you happy, what would they say?
Are you afraid that giving your whole life to Jesus might make you less happy? If so, why?
Because if your happiness is anywhere else, it’s hollow and fleeting. But in Christ, it’s full and forever.
Let’s pray that God would increase our happiness in Him and help us fight off the tendency to harden our hearts.
