Real-Life Devotions by Lysa TerKeurstSample

The Happy File

It wasn’t what some would call a perfect day, but to her it was special. We had spent the day together just hanging out around the house. Simple things like eating lunch on the deck, soaking up the sunshine and giggling over funny memories traced the outlines of our shared moments. That’s when she whispered a few words as if she were telling herself a secret, “This day is going in my Happy File.”

She explained that her Happy File was a record kept of God’s simple blessings, those moments in time with a little extra spark. You know the ones. Times that no one else would get, but when you recall them, you smile and remember God’s goodness. Her collection was spilling over the top.

She found the Happy File helpful when darkness crept into her life. Satan loves to fill our minds with negative thoughts. A stash of happiness works like a flashlight in the middle of the night. The evil one can cloud our world with gloom, but when we open the file that holds God’s blessings, the shadows are shattered.

So what are you choosing to keep on file? Here is the deal: Start a collection of Happy Files! God’s fingerprints are all over each day. Look for them! Record them! Recall them!

Next, pull out those old musty files that have collected guilty dust and shameful mildew. As each one comes to mind plunge it into God’s thought-shredder, taking it captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Then replace that thought with a happy one.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can begin daily to rid your mind of the garbage Satan has dumped on you and replace it with Happy Files. Then you can be numbered among God’s faithful people who rejoice in his goodness (see 2 Chronicles 6:41).

By Luann Prater