I just want to be happy!
We hear it all the time. Maybe we’ve thought it or even said it ourselves.
And so we chase after the illusive happy heart that keeps a smile on our face and our lives free of pain.
But unfortunately, the road to happiness is paved with heartache, heart break, discouragement and despair.
The quest for happiness have left people broken and feeling empty at the bottom of a bottle, in the arms of someone who wasn’t their spouse, in pursuit of an unhealthy relationship, in bankruptcy court after spending what they didn’t have for things they didn’t need, in rehab centers where those addicted to drugs wrestle with being held captive to the very thing they were hoping would make them happy.
What have we sacrificed in our search for happiness?
Unfortunately, far too much!
So the questions we are faced with is What really brings happiness? And Does God really want us to be happy?
Could it be that the desire to pursue happiness was placed there by the only One who could make our hearts truly happy?
You may have heard the saying, God doesn’t want us happy, He wants us holy.
But a journey through Ecclesiastes will shed a different light on that saying.
God wants us to be happy, but not at the expense of holiness and not instead of holiness… rather girded by the foundation of holiness.
In essence, true happiness can not be found apart from a relationship with God. Oh, we can laugh, and we can have a good time, but the kind of pure, unfettered happiness our hearts are hungry for is the kind of stuff the abundant life is made of…it’s what Jesus said He came to give us.
Abundant life. Happiness. Joy beyond measure. It’s what we long for. But we search for it in ways that can never make it ours.
Does God want us to be happy? Absolutely!
A quick look at the Psalms reminds that He does.
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2
Blesses means happy and the Psalms are filled with references to how to be BLESSED and HAPPY…and every reference points us back to living according to God’s plan and principles and living in a thriving relationship with the Lord.
I’m not sure where where your chase for happiness has taken you, but I know that your search ended the moment you gave your life to Christ.
How many of you would say AMEN to that? How many of you are still looking for the happiness that only Jesus can bring?
Stephanie, this sums it up, beautifully: “…points us back to living according to God’s plan and principles and living in a thriving relationship with the Lord.”
My chase ended long, long ago when I heard His call, felt His love and experienced His abounding grace, all of which have NEVER ended. How beautiful is the LORD!
This is a must share/read.
Blessings!
Found your blog on Twitter and love it
Thanks Melissa!
SO glad to be connected!