In his book, The Blue Zones of Happiness- Lessons from the World’s Happiest People, Dan Buettner sought after what makes people happy. He lists the circumstances that encourage happiness in people around the world, which he calls “Happiness Power 9”.
For example, the list includes: love someone, engage in community, learn likability, move naturally, look forward, and sleep at least seven hours per night. No doubt that these things are delightful. However, nowhere does he mention our true source of joy that never fades and will last throughout eternity. Instead of seeking happiness, find joy in God.
What is happiness?
Happiness is self-centered.
Fill in the blank.
I will be happy when __________ .
- I get married
- I get divorced
- I get out of debt
- I get that job
- I get a promotion
- I get a new car
- I have a baby
Notice all these statements start with “I”. Happiness is all about me and what I want. I am the center of the universe.
Happiness is based on circumstances.
We seek people, places and things to bring us happiness. We expect other people to meet our needs, but they won’t or cannot. Eventually, people will disappoint us or leave us.
We seek new places to live, different places to go, and even nicer houses and neighborhoods to make us happy. Subsequently, the house is still not big enough, or the experience doesn’t measure up to what we thought it would be. So we desire a bigger house or a nicer neighborhood. Or maybe even an exotic vacation will do the trick. But a change of scenery never satisfies.
Likewise, we expect possessions to fulfill us. We feel secure having plenty of money and an abundance of things. Eventually, we want the next new thing to replace the old, boring thing. Houses, garages and self-storage units overflow with stuff. However, we still are not content with what we have.
Happiness is fleeting.
When our circumstances change, we are no longer happy. The good times never last. When people leave or disappoint us, we are miserable. If our money and possessions no longer excite us, we buy something else to fill the void. When circumstances don’t go our way, we decide to move, change jobs, or change something in our lives to regain our state of happiness. Like a hamster on a wheel going around and around, the cycle repeats over and over.
Instead of seeking happiness, find joy in God.
Joy is anchored in God’s love
God is in control, and our future is with Jesus in heaven. Joy is confidence that despite everything, it will be all right because of God’s love.
The Bible says, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:31-32).
Kay Warren, in her book Choose Joy Because Happiness Isn’t Enough says it so well: “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.”
Find joy in God because He has a plan tailor-made just for you. God will be there for you when everyone and everything else is gone. You can lose your spouse, friends, family, job, car, money, your house or your health all in an instant. But God is faithful. He will always love us and will never leave us. Nothing, yes nothing, can separate us from God’s love.
The Bible says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
Joy defies our circumstances
Even if our circumstances are not what we imagined for ourselves, God’s promises prevail. God uses all things, including pain, suffering, broken lives and desperate situations for His good purposes. It’s easy to trust God when things are going well. However, trials and suffering help us grow (James 1:2-4).
For example, the apostle Paul, who wrote a sizeable chunk of the New Testament, suffered a long list of horrible circumstances, including flogging, repeated imprisonment, shipwrecks, stoning, danger, and hunger (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Despite this, he found a reason to rejoice and wrote the joy-filled book of Philippians while in prison.
Joy is a choice
The root word of happy in Middle English is hap, which means one’s luck or lot; occurrence or accident. Happiness just happens to you, but joy is a choice. For example, I buy a lottery ticket because winning would make me happy. But just because I choose to buy a ticket doesn’t mean I will win. To find joy, you must choose to trust God, the source of eternal joy, not the temporary things of the world that will fade away.
How do we find joy in God?
Realize that trusting God and finding joy is a journey similar to the journey to wellness. We do not complete the journey until we arrive in heaven. All we can do in this life is take one step at a time, one day at a time, to grow closer to God. The journey can be difficult, but by His amazing grace, God offers salvation and eternal life as the ultimate reward.
Read about my personal journey to find joy in God.
