In partnership with

Good morning. It’s Sunday, May 24th, aka National Brothers Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

📖 Verse Of The Day

— Psalms 34:18

❤️ Today’s Sponsor

Smart starts here.

You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.

Join for free today!

🧠 Devotional

If you asked most people, they’d say it’s always better to be happy than sad.

But that’s not always true, and this quote explains why:

“Sadness that brings you closer to God is better than happiness that pulls you further away.” — Unknown

So what does this mean?

It means exactly what it says. There’s not a ton to explain, but here’s the point: what matters isn’t whether something feels good or bad, it’s whether it brings you closer to God or pulls you away from Him.

Have you ever experienced sadness, like disappointment, loss, or something not going how you thought it would, and it actually made you turn to God more, pray more, and depend on Him more?

The Bible actually says that happens.

In Psalm 34:18 it says:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (NIV)

So when you’re in that kind of sadness, you’re not far from God, you’re actually closer to Him.

And in 2 Corinthians 7:10 it says:

“Godly sorrow bringeth repentance to salvation not to be repented of…” (KJV)

So there’s a kind of sadness that actually brings you back to God and changes you.

And on the flip side, have you ever experienced happiness, like everything going right, feeling comfortable, enjoying life, and without even realizing it, you slowly started thinking about God less and relying on Him less?

The Bible warns about that too.

In Deuteronomy 8:10–14, God tells His people that when they have plenty, when everything is going well, they need to be careful not to forget Him.

So both sides are real.

There is a sadness that brings you closer to God, and there is a kind of happiness that can slowly pull you away if you’re not paying attention.

And this is really what it comes down to: anything that brings you closer to God is better, no matter what it’s attached to, and anything that pulls you away from Him is worse, no matter how good it feels or how good it looks on the outside.