Up to this point, I’ve been reading and memorizing the King James version, which has been a rich experience.  This morning I read through John Calvin’s commentary on MATTHEW 5:1-12; LUKE 6:20-26 and realized from the translators notes, that the word blessed in the greek and happy are the same word, Makarios. In Calvin’s commentary he keeps saying happy, not using the word word blessed.   That really tugged deep at my heart, and got me asking –  Am I happy?  Blessed is such a spiritual cliche, I was thinking that that was either 1) anticipation for the future blessings, 2) a fuzzy bla in my spirit.  But Jesus here is saying Happy.   It’s all a paradox.  This is an inner joy brought from an eternal focus.  The stuff of this fallen world don’t matter…  I need to focus on the eternal, place my everything there.
Calvin breaks it down a bit, but I really like what he says here:

Though carnal reason will never admit what is here taught by Christ, yet he does not bring forward any thing imaginary, — as the Stoics were wont, in ancient times, to amuse themselves with their paradoxes, — but demonstrates from the fact, that those persons are truly happy, whose condition is supposed to be miserable.

I’m now seeing these words of Jesus as a deeper message, I am to find true happiness in what the world sees as wrong. I need to be happy, I need to choose to be happy. Not happy like the world, which is blissful ignorance, but I need to put my entire soul in trust of Good things the Father of All has laid up for me in eternity.

I researched the Greek Stoics and I found that this philosophy commonly refers to someone indifferent to pain, pleasure, grief, or joy.  This is not what Jesus was talking about, if anything quite the opposite.   I need to be able to be broken down and loose it all, so I can gain it all.  I need to truly mourn and feel the bittern anguish of loss, so Jesus can comfort me.  I need to be meek and tender, so God can use me as his tool to win the world over to Him.  I need to hunger and thirst for righteousness, so I may be filled with His Holy righteousness.  I need to extend mercy, so I may obtain mercy.  I need to keep my heart pure, so I will see Him work in my life.  And I need to make peace so people know who I am.

Lord, give me Joy in this hard time in my life.  It’s been a week, and my heart has been torn from my being, and it’s hard to be happy.  I don’t want to pretend to be happy, that just a lie.  Help me today find true happiness, true joy in You.  Help me to push away the things of this fallen world, and cling to you.