Ustedes pensaron hacerme mal, pero Dios cambió ese mal en bien para hacer lo que hoy vemos: para salvar la vida de mucha gente. Génesis 50:20 (DHH) En los últimos días, hemos estado hablando de orar por aquellos que se han apartado de su relación con Dios. Ya sea que estemos hablando de un adolescente rebelde que perdió interés recientemente o alguien que se alejó de Dios hace años, siempre hay esperanza, y nuestras oraciones son poderosas cuando se trata de llevarlos a una relación cercana con Dios. A veces las personas se alejan de Dios después de pasar por una circunstancia difícil: una tragedia, un fracaso o una muerte en la familia. Esto puede deberse a que se les ha enseñado que Dios orquestó …

You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord. The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling. Psalm 21:6–7 (NLT) I once read an interesting study about happiness. Two groups of people were tested: one was told to hold a pencil with their lips and the other was to hold it with their teeth. Both groups were told jokes and were exposed to other humorous content and then were asked to rate how funny the material was. The group that held the pencil in their lips didn’t find the jokes as funny as the group that held it in their teeth. Why? Holding a pencil in your teeth mimics …

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:10–11 (NKJV) Have you ever met someone who puts on a façade of happiness? You’ve probably heard the saying, “Fake it until you make it.” But faking happiness isn’t the key to developing a deep-seated sense of joy. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t put on a smile and try to be happy. But why live a life of fake happiness when you can find real tools in God’s Word allowing you to live a life that’s full of …

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NLT) One day, a sad little hawk went home after school and told his mom, “I don’t like school. I’m failing swimming, so they’ve doubled my classes.” The little hawk loved to fly, but because he was already so good at it, the school had cancelled his flying lessons so he could spend all his time on his weakness—swimming. A little turtle also went home after school and admitted that he was failing a class—flying. In an effort to shore up his weaknesses, the school cancelled his swimming …

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT) If you’re unhappy, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have past issues to resolve. Thinking that you have to delve into every past hurt and trauma is one trap many people fall into on the quest for happiness. There are times when we need to resolve issues from the past. Things may have happened to you that you need to work through, but you don’t necessarily need to dig through your past to find joy. You see, it can be tempting to assume that every unsettling feeling is the sign …