I have never met anyone who doesn’t want to be happy. I know I do, and if you are reading this, then most likely so do you. Who doesn’t want to be happy, right? While pop-culture teaches that in order to be happy we need to follow our hearts what the Bible teaches about happiness is actually quite different.
Jeremiah 17:19 says that “the heart is deceitful above all things”. Seems like we ought not to trust our own hearts with our own happiness! So, if following our hearts is not the way to happiness, then how do we get there?…
The Case Of Solomon
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.”– Ecclesiastes 2:10 (NIV)
When you are young, and a Christian, you sometimes get unfairly labeled as someone whose life consists of an endless and inconvenient “can’t do checklist”. Just because you are somehow different, it is sometimes too easy to be stereotyped as someone who is “repressed” and “afraid to experience life to the fullest”
However, according to John 14:6 Jesus is the life.
“Jesus answered, “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”-John 14:6 (NIV)
If Jesus is the life, then living life to the fullest must mean experiencing Jesus to the fullest.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon recorded what he personally experienced by following his own heart. Take a look 😉 It is through his personal account that we can learn where the act of following our heart can take us. The Bible says that He did not withhold from experiencing anything his heart desired. What was waiting for him at the end of such journey, however, was nothing close to happiness.
You see, the difference between this world’s idea of happiness and God’s idea of happiness for our lives is simple. This world’s idea of happiness is temporary, whereas the joy that comes from personally experiencing Jesus is everlasting. When your happiness is rooted in Jesus, there is no need to look anywhere else. When your happiness is found in Jesus, there is no need to escape reality or engage in self-destructive behaviors.
The Source of True Happiness
God has left us the manual on how to be happy, a manual that reflects His own character. It’s called the Bible. In it, you will find the special guideline He has left for you and for me to live healthy and free of remorse; to live a happy life –Exodus 20:3-17 take a look 🙂
Go ahead and free yourself from the false idea of happiness this world has. Dare to cut ties with human tradition, listen instead to His word. John 14: 15 says that if we love Jesus we are to keep His commands. No one is as invested in your happiness as Jesus. Do you trust Jesus with your happiness? Do you love Him enough to keep His commands?
Dear friend, we were created to have an intimate relationship with our creator. Nothing of this world can ever fulfill, satisfy, and bring true joy to our life the way a personal relationship with Jesus will.
And what better way to get intimate with Jesus than to dive into His word?
I know that it is sometimes too easy to pick and choose the things we like to hear and discard the things we don’t. Friend, please don’t fall into that trap. In His infinite mercy, God has left a holy compass to guide us through this life, the ultimate love letter, the stamp of His own character; the Bible.- Psalm 119:105
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”.
Do you consider yourself a servant of God?
Today, I would like to encourage you to set a special time apart every day to study His word. But wait a second! Before you do, put your preconceptions aside, humbly ask Him to show you the way, and allow Him to shower you with His wisdom.
Believe me, your life won’t be the same 😉