We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else's idea of life. True happiness lies within us and searching for peace, contentment and joy in the world is not the way to go. Let's trust God with all our heart, acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will make our paths straight. Here are some beautiful words of wisdom inspired by the writings of some experts.

Jesus said that the way to be happy and successful in life is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all  good things will be given to us (Matthew 6:33). But is it possible to lead a God-centered life, do more than survive in this materialistic world, and still be ourselves, these days?  Yes, it is possible to do all these things and it’s not as hard as we probably imagine.

The first step is to evaluate our values and goals in life. Write them down and be honest. To “seek first the kingdom of God” means to bring our priorities in line with God’s, so the next step is to know what God’s priorities are.

What would He like to see us do? Many of us stop here because we expect God to ask something impossibly difficult or sacrificial of us. We would probably be pleasantly surprised if we know how simple and clear the Bible is on that, and how attainable it is.  What does the Lord require of us but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandment and His commandments are not burdensome. The entire law is summed up in single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Yes, living for those things isn’t always easy and may involve some initial sacrifices, but they are sacrifices that are soon more than repaid.  

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. -Luke 6:23 

It’s also important to clear up another common misconception that while it’s true that the Bible doesn’t define success in terms of material comfort and gain, God isn’t against material success; it’s what people do with their success that matters to Him.

The Bible doesn’t say that money is the root of all evil, as 1 Timothy 6:10 is so often misquoted; it is “the love of money” that’s to blame. God will be more than happy to bless us materially if we will use those blessings to “do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with our God,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.”

In fact, the Bible promises, “Delight yourself … in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4), and “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

And what about the question: Can we still  be us?

Yes, only we’ll be a happier, more focused, and more fulfilled person. God made us to be a unique expression of His love. He’s not going to spoil that, but rather improve on it! God wants to give us not just the good life, but the best life there is! It’s within His power to give it to us, but we’ve got to want it too.

When our values are in line with God’s values and we let His priorities become our priorities, it’s a win-win situation!

By Tim Pedrosa

When there is nothing left but God, that is when we find out that God is all we need.