Chasing Happiness

Have you ever thought about what makes you happy? I think it can mean different things to different people. Some people find their happiness in the people around them. Some people find their happiness in achievement. And others find their happiness in experiences. There is nothing wrong with any of those. However, as most of us know happiness can be elusive. Happiness often depends on the circumstances around us. When a family member or ourselves get sick, it is difficult to find happiness. When work becomes more of a grind than a purpose, it is difficult to find happiness. And when new fun experiences are tough to come by, happiness is hard to find. 

I think some people spend their entire lives chasing happiness not understanding why it seems to continually slip through their fingers. Finding that special someone in life can fill you with happiness, but eventually you will realize you don’t agree on everything and you have to work on your relationship to preserve it. The birth of a child can fill you with extreme happiness as you gaze at this little person God has blessed you with, but then the hard work of actually raising and parenting this child sets in. Finding your dream job can also be exciting, but there will still be days you would rather stay home than go to work. I think the point is that happiness is not necessarily sustainable, so chasing happiness is often like chasing a cloud. 

Am I saying it is wrong to be happy? Absolutely not. However, I think there is something better that God offers us. He offers joy. The Bible has a lot to say about joy. First, joy is listed as a fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 in the Passion Translation says “But the fruit produced by the the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.” What these scriptures are saying is that if you have Jesus and therefore the Holy Spirit, He has given you the ability to have joy flow into your life at all times. Joy is not determined by circumstances like happiness. Joy is determined by our ability to tap into the Holy Spirit and as we give Him permission to flow into us and through us. Joy is something we can always experience no matter what the outward circumstances may be. That is a promise I like holding on to!

In Isaiah 61, we see the kingdom of God described even before Jesus had entered the Earth. Beginning in verse 1 through verse 3  Isaiah says. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” In Luke 4:17-19, we see Jesus read Isaiah 61:1,2 to the people gathered in the synagogue and confirm that He is the Messiah and Isaiah has correctly described what the Kingdom of God looks like! 

In Isaiah we see the kingdom of God described as somewhat of a divine exchange. If you are poor, I have good tidings for you. If you are held captive by demonic oppression, I am your deliverer to bring liberty and set you free from the prison holding you. If you are experiencing heaviness, I bring you a garment of praise. You will now wear praise! If your life is in ashes, out of those ashes I will bring beauty. If you are mourning, I will bring you comfort and the oil of joy. Oil in the Bible was often used to anoint people. They would pour the oil on the person’s head and let it flow over them. If you can maybe picture with me, the oil of joy being poured out. The Lord is saying I can bring this oil and pour it over you as a healing balm and what you will experience instead of mourning is joy! You will be covered in it. That is an exchange I would like to make with the Lord!

The Bible is full of scriptures about joy. If you struggle with joy or feel overwhelmed with life circumstances, I invite you to do a search of the scriptures about joy. There are so many. What does that tell me? Joy is important. It is not the icing on the cake or nice if we have it. It is important. Why? I think because that is how God approaches us. With joy! Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV) says “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with HIs love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” This scripture tells us that God does not wring His hands over us. He does not turn His back with frustration and say they will never understand. No! He rejoices over us! He sings over us! The God in heaven is joyful over us He dances! If the God of Heaven and Earth can feel that way about us, then it is important to HIm that we experience and live in joy as well. 

So what do we do when our circumstances just do not align itself with joy? James 1:2-4 in the Passion Translation says “My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance and then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.” There is nothing that guarantees we will have a life without trouble. However, when trials come because we live in a fallen world, we have a secret weapon. Joy! In those trials, we can choose joy. Not because we are experiencing bad things, but because we know that when the enemy comes against us, God can still win by using those circumstances to grow us in our faith in Him. God does not give us bad things. God is immensely good and can only give good. However, when bad things do happen, God is so amazing He can work those things for good in our life. 

In Psalm 16:11, David says “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” David points out that in God’s presence fullness of joy can be found. If you need joy or more joy, I invite you to dwell in God’s presence. How do we do that? Worship. You can sing songs to Him or you can pray and tell God how much you love Him and appreciate Him. Begin to thank God for what He has done and is doing. When you do that, you will be positioning yourself for a divine exchange with Him. Anything you are struggling with, worrying about, mourning, fearful of, He will be faithful to exchange with joy. Why? Because as you engage God in this way you are opening yourself up to see things from His perspective. Remember friend, God is always for us, never against us. He loves you more than you can understand, and He is always open and willing to have a divine exchange with us. We just have to be faithful to step out and ask. 

Feel free to browse these other articles about happiness.

Finding True Happiness and Keeping It By Lisa Granger. https://lisamarcelina.net/finding-true-happiness-and-keeping-it/

Mom Burnout and How to Be Happy By Ashley Olivine https://www.ashleyolivine.com/mom-burnout/

3 Days By MelAnn https://graceandrapture.substack.com/p/3-days

Seeing Happiness Right in Your Life By Dianne Vielhuber https://simplewordsoffaith.com/2021/10/01/seeing-happiness-right-in-your-life/

The Summer of Happiness Recap of Summer 2021 By Jessica Haberman https://storytellerfarm.com/the-summer-of-happiness-recap-of-summer-2021/

How to Be Happy By Amy Cobb https://www.tayloredintent.com/blog/how-to-be-happy