Happiness: What's that all about?

Happiness.   It’s a word we hear often, something we all want, right?  It seems everyone has something to say about happiness these days.  But as Christians, where does it fit into our lives?

Here are a few quotes I’ve seen on hapiness:

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” Dalai Lama

“Don't wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you've got to make yourself.” Alice Walker

“Whatever it is, if it doesn’t make you happy, walk away.” 
Unknown

“Life is too short to be anything but happy.” Unknown

“Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight.” Hannah Arendt

“I’m happy I have enough self-respect to dismiss the people out of my life that don’t deserve to be there.” Unknown

“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” 
Albert Cambus

This is what we are hearing in our world, that we deserve to be happy, that it is what life is for, that it comes from somewhere within us, and the situations that make us unhappy should just be walked away from to leave room for more happiness.   The message is clear: it is all about us!  But, what does the Bible say, the creator that made us?

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Romans 13:14

“Since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:16

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” Romans 7:18

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthian 5:21

“As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one’” Romans 3:10

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

“For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

‎"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". Romans 15:13

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16

“The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” Proverbs 10:28

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8

The scripture clearly shows that there is no goodness within us, that God created us for Himself, that He calls us to live holy (separate from the ways of the world), that in Him is found hope and joy, and that Christ saved us from God’s wrath not by anything good we did, but by His mercy.  The bible speaks much on holiness, peace, joy, hope, and love, but happiness seem to be something that the world talks more about, and the scripture is very clear that the only thing that we deserve is death and punishment for our rebellion towards a holy God.

It seems the world has gotten it wrong, telling us we should be happy and that it should come from within us.  The God who created us gives us joy (not a temporary happiness based on our circumstances but a lasting joy based on the love of God, our delight found in His forgiveness, His love, the hope He gives).  He tells us that this is not from within us (where no goodness dwells), but only from Him.  The world tells us to walk away from people that don’t make us happy, yet God tells us to live at peace with others, to forgive, to love, and once again, our joy is found in Him, not to be looked for from others.  If we look to people to bring us happiness, we will always be disappointed.  If we look for circumstances to make us happy, they will change and we will be left unhappy and feel betrayed because we somehow believed the lie that we deserve to be happy.

And what about when bad things happen?  Because they do!  People get sick, loved ones die, friends fail us, and we just cannot seem to do what we ought to do.  When we trust in God and the hope we have in Him, when we focus on His great mercy and love for us, our joy is not taken from us.  Though we be sad, even unhappy in our circumstances, nothing can steal our joy because in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

So please, I beg of you dear friends, listen not to the world and it’s lies about happiness, but trust in our Savior who can bring joy so rich and lasting, nothing like the temporary joy that the world promises.  So don’t give up on people (God is a God of reconciliation), don’t look for more to make you happy, look at how you can spread the joy that the Spirit of God has for us, serve others, do good, and above all love one another for our days are few.  We have a short time on this earth.  Let’s make it count, not by what we get out of it, but by what we can give because we have been so richly blessed by His grace for us.

Find other posts by other grace-loving believers: GraceLaced