Happiness

One of the things I love about working with the team at Eternal Perspective Ministries is how wise and biblically-based their answers are to the many questions people ask. Someone asked a great question and this answer was right on target. Hope you enjoy it.

If you asked any group of people what they want out of life, chances are that most, if not all, would give some form of the same answer: “To be happy.” This inborn longing for happiness has been observed for thousands of years by theologians, philosophers, atheists, and agnostics.

One of the greatest dangers we are facing, from children to the elderly, is the loss of hope. Nothing robs us of happiness faster than hopelessness, and nothing encourages it more than hope. The day or even the season of life can be dark, but hope still shines a light.

Puritan preacher Thomas Brooks said, “God is the author of all true happiness; he is the donor of all true happiness. . . . He that hath him for his God, for his portion, is the only happy man in the world." Happiness is what we all want, and believers throughout the centuries, like Brooks, have affirmed that it is a good desire when we seek it in Christ. Unfortunately, countless modern Christians have been taught various myths about happiness.

If by “Happy New Year!” we mean that all our problems are about to end with 2020, we’re being unrealistic. But if by “Happy New Year!” we mean that we can choose to be centered on Jesus and happy in Him no matter what this new year brings, that is not blind optimism; it is biblical realism.

In our fallen world, troubles are constant. Happy people look beyond their difficult circumstances to Someone whose grace brings light to the darkness and smiles to our faces in the most unlikely moments.

As Christ’s followers, we’re not suns; we’re moons. We shine with a reflected light. For the moon to reflect the sun, it needs for nothing to come between it and the sun. Our calling is to stay in the light of Jesus, and not let Him be eclipsed in our lives.

Barnabas Piper has a new book called Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life's Most Elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality. Several months ago he asked me to read it and consider writing the foreword, since happiness in Christ is a topic close to my heart. This foreword I wrote is not only an invitation to read that book but also an invitation to pursue a life of happiness in Jesus.

It’s easy to recite the fruit of the Spirit as if it’s a list of virtues or a badge of honor. But all the qualities are ingredients of happiness. Not just joy, which is happiness, but the whole list.