A Surprising Source of Joy

Years ago I was in my backyard and saw a brightly colored bird nestled in the grass. It was not the kind of a bird that is typically seen in the wild. It was the kind of bird someone would have in a cage. I thought maybe it was someone’s pet that had flown away.

I also noticed that my German Shepherd was looking intently at the bird. I thought, “That bird’s days are numbered. His minutes are numbered.” So I got down on the bird’s level and put my finger out. Sure enough, he jumped right on my finger. I walked into the kitchen with this beautiful little bird sitting on my finger. Cathe and I decided it must be someone’s pet bird that got away. We borrowed a cage from a neighbor down the street, set it up on the counter, and opened the door. The little bird couldn’t get in there fast enough. Immediately he was hopping from perch to perch, chirping away. Happy days were here again.

We may think it seems cruel to put the poor bird in a cage. But that bird didn’t want to be free. He didn’t see the cage as something that kept him confined; he saw it as a barrier that kept my German Shepherd out.

In the same way, if you want to be happy, you will live within certain parameters. Psalm 112:1 says, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments” (NKJV). The word blessed could be translated “happy happy.” In other words, super happy is the man or woman who fears the Lord and delights greatly in His commandments.

The way to be a happy person will be found in what we do as well as in what we don’t do.