You Able to Find Real Happiness

1. Wetin we mean by our “spiritual need,” and how it can make us happy?

TRUE happiness not just happy feeling that can come and go, but that feeling that can stay with people throughout their life. How it can happen? Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need.” (Matt. 5:3) Jesus knew that human being was made with that strong desire to know and worship their Creator, Jehovah God. That what the Bible call our “spiritual need.” And because Jehovah that “happy God,” those who worship him must also be happy.​—1 Tim. 1:11.

2-3. (a) According to Jesus, who else can be happy? (b) Wetin we coming discuss in this article, and why?

² You think when we not get problem that the only time we can be happy? No. In his sermon, Jesus said something that surprising. He said, “Those who mourn”maybe because they feeling bad about the sins they commit or because they facing serious problems, can be happy. Jesus also said that “those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake” or those who can endure “reproach” because they disciples of Jesus, can be happy. (Matt. 5:​4, 10, 11) But how it possible to really be happy in situation them like this?

³ Jesus was teaching us that we not have to be free from problems before we can be happy. But we can be happy when we satisfy our spiritual need and draw close to God. (Jas. 4:8) How we can do it? In this article, we will talk about three things we can do to be really happy.

READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE

4. What the first thing we must do to really be happy? (Psalm 1:​1-3)

⁴ STEP 1: To really be happy, we must read and study the Bible. Human being and animals need physical food to live. But only human being can read and study the Bible. And we need to do it. That why Jesus said: “Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Jehovah’s mouth.” (Matt. 4:4) So, we must read the Bible every day because it important. The psalmist said: ‘Happy is the man whose delight is in the law of Jehovah and who reads it day and night.’​—Read Psalm 1:​1-3.

5-6. (a) Wetin we can learn from the Bible? (b) How reading the Bible can help us?

⁵ Because Jehovah love us, he show us from the Bible what we must do to be happy. In the Bible we learn what God get in mind for us. We learn how we can draw close to him and what we can do for him to forgive our sins. And we also learn about the wonderful hope that God promise for the future. (Jer. 29:11) The truths we learn from studying the Bible can really make us happy!

⁶ We know that the Bible also get good-good advice for our everyday life. When we do what the Bible say, we will be happy. Anytime you feeling discourage because of the problem them you facing, read the Bible and meditate on it. Jesus said: “Happy are those hearing the word of God and keeping it!”​—⁠Luke 11:28.

7. What can help you to get the most benefit from the time you spend to read the Bible?

⁷ When you reading the Bible, take your time so you can enjoy what you reading. For example, you na have this experience before? Let say someone cook the food that you really like. But because you were rushing or you were having something on your mind, you ate the food quick and you not really get the taste of it. After you finish eating, then you start regretting. You wish you took your time to really enjoy the food. That the same way when we rush to read the Bible, we can’t really enjoy what Jehovah teaching us. Take your time to enjoy reading the Bible. Picture the thing them you reading about, imagine the sounds of the voices and think about what you na read. When you do it, it will make you to be more happy.

8. How “the faithful and discreet slave” doing their work? (See the footnote.)

⁸ Jesus appointed “the faithful and discreet slave” to provide spiritual food at the proper time, and we really getting it.b (Matt. 24:45) The faithful slave can use the Bible in everything they produce. (1 Thess. 2:13) The spiritual food from the Bible can help us to know the way Jehovah can think. That the reason why we can read the Watchtower and Awake! magazines and the article them on jw.org. We can prepare for the midweek and weekend meetings. And we can also watch the JW Broadcasting program every month^® if it available. If we make sure to continue reading and studying the Bible, then we will be able to do the second thing that can really make us happy.

OBEY JEHOVAH LAWS

9. What the second thing we can do to really be happy?

⁹ STEP 2: To be really happy, we must obey Jehovah laws. The psalmist said: “Happy is everyone who fears Jehovah, who walks in His ways.” (Ps. 128:1) To fear Jehovah mean that we must respect him and stop doing things that will make him feel bad. (Prov. 16:6) So, we must continue to do our best to obey all the laws God gave us in the Bible. (2 Cor. 7:1) We will be happy if we do what Jehovah love and hate what he hate.​—Ps. 37:27; 97:10; Rom. 12:9.

10. According to Romans 12:​2, what our responsibility?

¹⁰ Read Romans 12:⁠2. Somebody can know that Jehovah get the power to decide what right and what wrong, but he must also be willing to obey God laws. For example, somebody can know that the government get the right to tell him the speed to use when he driving on the highway. But maybe, because he not want obey, he can drive with heavy speed more than what the government say. We must show by our action that we really believe that obeying Jehovah laws that the best way to live. (Prov. 12:28) That how David was feeling about Jehovah when he said: “You make known to me the path of life. In your presence is abundant joy; there is happiness at your right hand forever.”​—Ps. 16:11.

11-12. (a) When we worrying or feeling discourage, what we must be careful about? (b) How Philippians 4:8 can help us when we choosing entertainment?

¹¹ When we worrying or feeling discourage, we can be looking for ways to stop worrying about our problems. It not bad thing. But we must be careful not to do something that Jehovah hate.​—Eph. 5:​10-12, 15-17.

¹² In the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, he encourage Christians to continue doing things that “righteous, . . . chaste, . . . lovable, [and] virtuous.” (Read Philippians 4:8.) Even though Paul was not really talking about entertainment, but the thing he said must help us to know what kind na entertainment to choose. Try this one: Anywhere you see the word “things” in this verse, replace it with the word “songs,” “movies,” “novels,” or “video games.” If we do it, it will help us to know which one Jehovah accept and the one them he hate. So we must live our life by obeying all Jehovah laws (Ps. 119:​1-3) Then we will be having clear conscience to take the next step that will make us to really be happy.​—Acts 23:1.

WORSHIPPING JEHOVAH MUST COME FIRST

13. What the third thing we can do to really be happy? (John 4:​23, 24)

¹³ STEP 3: Make sure that worshipping Jehovah must come first in your life. Since that Jehovah made us, we must worship him. (Rev. 4:11; 14:​6, 7) So, the most important thing in our life must be to worship Jehovah the way he want us to worship him. That mean, “with spirit and truth.” (Read John 4:​23, 24.) We want God holy spirit to direct our worship so that it can be in line with what the Bible say. Our worship must come first even if we living in country where they na stop part of our work or we not free to worship Jehovah at all. Now-now, more than 100 of our brothers and sisters in jail just because they Jehovah Witnesses.c With all that, they can be happy and still look for way to pray, study, and tell other people about God and his Kingdom! When people talk bad about us or persecute us, we can be happy because we know that Jehovah will help us to endure and he will reward us.​—Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet. 4:14.

REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE

14. What happen to one young brother in Tajikistan, and why?

¹⁴ No matter what we going through, real-life examples show that when we follow these three steps, we will really be happy. Let talk about what happen to 19-year-old Jovidon Bobojonov, from Tajikistan, who refuse to join the army. On October 4, 2019, they took him from his house by force and put him in jail for some months, and they treated him like criminal. The bad way they treated him was on the news in different-different countries. It was in the news that they beat him just to force him to join the army. After that, one court said that he was guilty. They sent him in one labor camp to do hard work until the president felt sorry for him and free him. With all that happen, Jovidon remain faithful and happy. What help him? He always put spiritual things first in his life.

15. How Jovidon use to get spiritual food when he was in jail?

¹⁵ When Jovidon was in jail, he continue to learn about Jehovah, even though he was not having Bible or any publications. How it happen? When the brothers and sisters use to carry food to him, they will write the daily text on the food bag. So, he was able to read the Bible and meditate on it every day. After they free him, he gave this advice to all those who not go through serious persecution yet. He said, “It will be good to use your freedom now to learn more about Jehovah by reading the Bible and all the publications.”

16. Wetin Jovidon use to focus on?

¹⁶ Our brother live by Jehovah laws. He focus on what was important to Jehovah. He not keep thinking on bad things and he not do anything bad. Jovidon use to enjoy looking at God fine-fine creation. Every morning, that the sound from the birds use to wake him up. In the night, he use to look at the moon and the stars. He said: “All those things were gifts from Jehovah that encourage me and made me happy.” When we grateful for the way Jehovah feeding us physically and spiritually, it can make us really happy. And that happiness can make us strong to bear anything.

17. How 1 Peter 1:​6, 7 can help somebody who in the same situation that Jovidon was in?

¹⁷ Jovidon made worshipping Jehovah the first thing in his life. He knew that it important for him to remain faithful to the true God. Jesus said: “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” (Luke 4:8) The army commanders and the soldier people wanted Jovidon to stop being Jehovah Witness. But he use to pray every day and every night, asking Jehovah to help him to not give up but to remain faithful. With all the wicked treatment they give him, Jovidon remain faithful. Because of that, he happy now that he get something that he was not having before they put him in jail And that strong faith.​—Read 1 Peter 1:​6, 7.

18. How we can continue to be happy?

¹⁸ Jehovah know what we need to really be happy. If you follow the three steps that can really make people happy, you will continue to be happy even if you going through serious problems. Then you yourself will be able to say: “Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah!”​—Ps. 144:15.