Or:
Happiness: Not all it's cracked up to be
Jumping out of a plane. Buying a hot new car. Dating a hot girl. Marrying a handsome man. Wearing the newest fashion. Jogging along the beach. Eating crispy hot chips. Buying the latest iPhone. Why do we do these things? Answer: Happiness. But is happiness all it is cracked up to be?
The word ‘happiness’ comes from the same English word as the word ‘perhaps’. Happiness carries the idea of chance and circumstance. Friday afternoons always bring more happiness than Monday mornings. People smile more at weddings than they do at funerals. Retail therapy might lift my mood, but in a few hours it will wear off. Happiness is based upon the ever-shifting situations that I am in. Perhaps I am happy, perhaps I am not.
This means that happiness is not constant. Happiness is like a sandcastle that is washed away by the waves of circumstance. I might be happy one year because I am fulfilled in my career. But the next year I might feel a deep sense of grief because I lost my job. For all of us, happiness is a roller coaster ride of highs and lows.
Something better than happiness
Happiness: Not all it's cracked up to be
Jumping out of a plane. Buying a hot new car. Dating a hot girl. Marrying a handsome man. Wearing the newest fashion. Jogging along the beach. Eating crispy hot chips. Buying the latest iPhone. Why do we do these things? Answer: Happiness. But is happiness all it is cracked up to be?
The word ‘happiness’ comes from the same English word as the word ‘perhaps’. Happiness carries the idea of chance and circumstance. Friday afternoons always bring more happiness than Monday mornings. People smile more at weddings than they do at funerals. Retail therapy might lift my mood, but in a few hours it will wear off. Happiness is based upon the ever-shifting situations that I am in. Perhaps I am happy, perhaps I am not.
This means that happiness is not constant. Happiness is like a sandcastle that is washed away by the waves of circumstance. I might be happy one year because I am fulfilled in my career. But the next year I might feel a deep sense of grief because I lost my job. For all of us, happiness is a roller coaster ride of highs and lows.
Something better than happiness
But there is something which is better than the euphoric rush of happiness. This is something which gives you a greater sense of fulfillment than any ecstatic wave of gladness. What I am talking about is joy. Joy is very different to happiness. Let me explain.
Joy and happiness seem very similar. But in reality, they are quite different. We might feel happy after that first morning coffee, but joy is something we feel when a baby is born. Happiness may gladden our heart, but joy makes our heart want to explode.
In the Bible, joy is tied to relationships. A wise son brings joy to his father, says the Proverbs. You can find joy in a spouse, a new baby or a good friend. We find joy in the relationships God has given us. Anyone can experience this.
Joy comes from the Ultimate Relationship
But true and lasting joy comes from having a relationship with God. When God comes into your life, He brings His joy with Him. He turns people’s lives into a festival of joy. This is because God is good, and when He comes into your life He drags all His goodness with Him.
Joy is always anchored to all the good things that God gives. The good things God has on offer are purpose, value, and meaning in life, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, a home in heaven, being with God forever, ruling the world with Christ, being known by God personally, and having God Himself as your inheritance! It doesn’t get any better than that.
Because these things are unchanging, this means that joy is unchanging. No one can steal joy away from you. You can be happy and have joy. You can have the deepest sadness and still have joy. Joy is not tied to circumstances. No wonder the apostle Paul, while in the wretched state of being chained up in prison cell can say ‘rejoice in the Lord always!’ (Philippians 4:4). He is looking at his relationship with the Lord.
Experiencing this joy
Joy is always anchored to all the good things that God gives. The good things God has on offer are purpose, value, and meaning in life, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, a home in heaven, being with God forever, ruling the world with Christ, being known by God personally, and having God Himself as your inheritance! It doesn’t get any better than that.
Because these things are unchanging, this means that joy is unchanging. No one can steal joy away from you. You can be happy and have joy. You can have the deepest sadness and still have joy. Joy is not tied to circumstances. No wonder the apostle Paul, while in the wretched state of being chained up in prison cell can say ‘rejoice in the Lord always!’ (Philippians 4:4). He is looking at his relationship with the Lord.
Experiencing this joy
Have you experienced this joy yourself? The Bible says ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’. (Psalm 34:8). Why does it say that? It’s an invitation to experience God. It’s one thing to know that he is good, it’s another thing to taste it. You can know in your head that ice-cream is creamy and cold, but to actually taste the yummy, cold, creaminess of ice-cream is quite another thing! To know that God is good and to taste that God is good are quite different things.
When someone becomes a Christian, it’s as though they develop a 6th sense- a spiritual sense that no one else has, and they begin to taste the goodness of God all for themselves. This is the experience of true and lasting joy.
I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of being so full of joy that you feel as though you could explode. Or feeling your inner core well up with fire? Do you even know what I am talking about?
How to get this joy
When someone becomes a Christian, it’s as though they develop a 6th sense- a spiritual sense that no one else has, and they begin to taste the goodness of God all for themselves. This is the experience of true and lasting joy.
I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of being so full of joy that you feel as though you could explode. Or feeling your inner core well up with fire? Do you even know what I am talking about?
How to get this joy
Perhaps this idea of joy is foreign to you. But this is exactly what Jesus came to bring. He came so that ‘your joy might be full’ (John 15:11). This is permanent joy because ‘no one will take your joy from you’ (John 16:22).
The irony is that Jesus came to fill our lives with joy by going through the most joyless of experiences: Death on a cross. In that death, he wiped away the curse of my sin. He rose again so he could enter my life and bring me joy. Do you want this joy yourself? You must do 2 things.
Firstly you must admit that you are empty. Confess to God that you don’t have meaning or purpose without Him. Ask him to forgive you for ignoring Him. Secondly, you must give Him the credit for true and lasting joy. Thank Him for sending Jesus to die in your place so that God may enter your life and bring you true joy.
All that the world can offer you is happiness based on circumstances. But true and lasting joy is anchored in God, which the world cannot take from you. Joy is always better than happiness!
The irony is that Jesus came to fill our lives with joy by going through the most joyless of experiences: Death on a cross. In that death, he wiped away the curse of my sin. He rose again so he could enter my life and bring me joy. Do you want this joy yourself? You must do 2 things.
Firstly you must admit that you are empty. Confess to God that you don’t have meaning or purpose without Him. Ask him to forgive you for ignoring Him. Secondly, you must give Him the credit for true and lasting joy. Thank Him for sending Jesus to die in your place so that God may enter your life and bring you true joy.
All that the world can offer you is happiness based on circumstances. But true and lasting joy is anchored in God, which the world cannot take from you. Joy is always better than happiness!
