Where in the World is Happiness?

[http://goo.gl/eJclSi]. It looked interesting so I clicked on it. It contained some interesting and helpful ideas, but I found one huge fatal flaw. The article tells us to look for happiness in all the wrong places.

    Think of happiness as being a buried treasure. If you are going to search for buried treasure, it doesn’t matter how hard you dig for it if you are digging in the wrong place. That was the biggest problem with the article on Oprah’s website.

  Notice that the article tells us to find happiness in ourselves: “Without self-acceptance, you will limit and block how much happiness, prosperity, love and success you will enjoy. The miracle of self-acceptance is that if you are willing to accept that happiness already exists in you, you will begin to experience more happiness around you. … Following your joy is about listening to your heart’s desires, noticing what truly inspires you and recognizing your soul’s purpose.” [Emphasis mine]

    When we look for happiness in ourselves, life becomes hollow and unsatisfying. Believing that happiness comes from within us will actually make things worse. Think about it this way. If happiness is already IN us, then the solution to unhappiness is to focus on ourselves even more. We will look for people who will put their focus on us, and we will look for ways to manipulate people and circumstances in order to be happy. We don’t like other people who are pushy and selfish, so why would we think that it’s good for us to be that way ourselves?

    The article also seems to say that our “soul’s purpose” is make ourselves happy. That sounds great, but it is just flat wrong. Let me show you God’s path to happiness–which is far better.

    Instead of looking at happiness as something we have to pursue, the Bible tells us that it is a gift that God wants to give to us (as Paul explains in Galatians 5:22). The happiness that we chase after always comes with regrets. Those regrets may come from our guilty conscience, or from a fear that our happiness won’t last. Any happiness we do find in ourselves won’t really satisfy because we will always hope for more.

  The happiness that God gives, on the other hand, is so complete that it is greater than our circumstances. God says that, “the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken” (Isaiah 54:10). God’s happiness is so full that it continues even when life is hard.

    Where can we find God’s happiness? The first step is learning why we should be happy with God. God is holy, and our lack of holiness is a barrier between us and Him. In spite of this, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified [declared righteous] by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:8–9). When we humbly embrace Christ’s gift of forgiveness that He has provided for us, we can’t help but be happy about the unending and eternal reward we have waiting for us.

  Since happiness comes from God, it makes sense that the closer we get to God, the happier we will be. David said, “I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4). “Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You” (Psalm 70:4).  

  When you sense emptiness in your life and a need for happiness, seek after God. Happiness doesn’t come from you, but from the One who made you. You can find Him through His Word. When we discover that our selfishness has blocked the flow of God’s joy, then we see that we need to seek His forgiveness. We can’t help but rejoice in Christ’s sacrifice that paid for our sin and cleared the way so we can actually be close to Almighty God. “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy” (Psalm 32:11).