Jan 3, 2020
We’ve all heard it. We’ve said it. It’s everywhere. It broadcasts from commercials and is found on bumper stickers and magnets, pillows and park benches. It’s the world’s mantra of living for ourselves and is phrased in many ways: Do what makes you happy. Follow your heart. Seek your fortune. Find your way.
We are mesmerized by these catchy phrases, and slowly we’ve come to believe that anything is acceptable in the name of self-discovery and our pursuit of happiness. But sadly, these heavily publicized slogans are rabbit trails that will never lead us to true fulfillment. We soon find ourselves exhausted and wondering what is wrong with us when we have attained so much and yet still feel so empty. Our deep ache for happiness often leads us to make reckless choices and sometimes we even shock ourselves at what we are willing to do. We may move from one marriage to the next, a bigger house, a nicer neighborhood, a different hobby, a new sports car, higher degree, the next rung on the corporate ladder, the newest fad diet, or expensive beauty treatment, always finding short bursts of pleasure followed by unfulfillment and the need for more. We work so hard to put ourselves in just the right circumstance, only to find that we still aren’t happy and that the world’s advice has proven to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 3). This is because lasting happiness cannot be found in situations, possessions, other people, or even ourselves. Sadly, by the time we realize these exhausting pursuits don’t yield lasting happiness, often we’ve already given up so much.
The Bible talks very little of pursuing happiness. In fact, it tells us to leave behind the pursuit of self in exchange for pursing God. When we shift our focus to God, He begins to show us how to have, not happiness which ebbs and flows with circumstance, but instead lasting qualities that are unshakable. It is quite a dichotomy in nature as it takes us laying aside our pursuit of happiness in order to find fulfillment. Joy is lasting happiness and satisfaction despite our circumstances and cannot be found in our pursuit of self because it isn’t of ourselves. Joy is found in surrender of our own pursuits of happiness and is grown to fruition as we seek God. This is how the apostles sang while imprisoned and how we today can raise our hands in worship in the midst of loss. Death, sickness, and disaster touch every single one of us here on earth and some of us face these in unbearable proportions. But Jesus has given us hope and what we need not only to endure but to live an abundant life (John 10:10). We have peace and happiness in the midst of even unfathomable circumstances because our loving God brings beauty from ashes and joy out of sorrow.
Our family’s New Year’s resolution is focused on Joy. “We will choose to be joyful and look to God for strength when we are disappointed.” This doesn’t come naturally, but God makes all things possible as we seek him.
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