Quest for happiness

Is happiness something that we will always find elusive ... or are we looking in the wrong places? Here are some interesting thoughts on happiness. 

Stormie Omartian – “We will never be happy until we make God the source of our fulfilment, and the answer to our longings. He is only one who should have power over our souls.”

Ecclesiastes 2:26 - To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness."

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ - Matthew 25:23

“I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”
― Jane Austen

What will it take for us to be happy today?

Living in Grace

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Being happy

Happiness is an elusive thing. We search long and hard for it, but we seldom find it. Perhaps it is because happiness is just an overflow of a deeper emotion - Joy. 

And Joy is not an emotional we can create ourselves, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. So, having said all this, maybe searching for happiness should really begin in the quiet moments with God. As we discover the Spirit of Joy, this will spill over into the happiness we seek. What do you think?

Psalm 21:6 - You have endowed him with eternal happiness. You have given him the unquenchable joy of your presence.

Living in Grace

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A Tragedy?

I have never thought that having lots of money could be considered a "tragedy." In a sense this is not exactly what Solomon is saying, but underneath his rant there is an element of this truth. He claims it is a tragedy to have so much wealth and then not to be able to enjoy it - this I agree with. One would think that 'money can buy happiness' if you treat your wealth with gratitude and respect. Sadly, many people don't.

"There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy." - Ecclesiastes 6:1-2

I wonder if this is Solomon's attempt at teaching an Economics 101 class? If he was trying to pass on his wisdom to the next generation he could open with these words:

"What makes you happy? What would leave you feeling content in life? Are you ever able to enjoy all you have been blessed with?"

“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.” - Pearl S. Buck

Living in Grace

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Buying Peace

 

"You promise peace for those who give you food,
    but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you." - Micah 3:5

One of Micah's big complaints against the religious leaders was that they were willing to manipulate people into buying peace. The whole idea of this is strange, because Peace can never be bought, but this didn't stop them from trying to squeeze money out of the pockets of the innocents and vulnerable.

In our day and age, is there any difference when you consider how we are bombarded by similar messages - shopping malls, glossy advertisements, catchy sales pitches and promises of happiness come to us all day long. Sadly, we often fall for these false promises, but the sooner we realise that TRUE PEACE can never be bought, the better.

Jesus is our Prince of Peace. 

Living in Grace
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Truly Happy

There are many books written on how we can be "truly happy" in life. A lot of these speak about reaching our goals, living our dreams, achieving success or finding the right partner. It took David one line to recommend his success for the Blessed Life. This is his advice:

"The truly happy person
doesn’t follow wicked advice,
doesn’t stand on the road of sinners,and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful." - Psalm 1:1 (CEV)

If you wanted to read it in a slightly different version, try this one:

"Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers." (NLT)

I suppose the good news in this case is that we are clearly given a choice to be BLESSED, HAPPY, JOYFUL. Our choices will have a direct bearing on whether or not we will walk in God's Way or the potentially dangerous way of others. 

Living in Grace
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What is Joy?

We often misunderstand 'Joy' as being 'happy'. However it runs a lot deeper than simply being happy. Being happy is an emotional state of being, but Joy is a fruit of God's Spirit living within us. So, in a simplistic way - we can be filled with Joy, but not feel happy. It does seem strange, but I wonder how you feel about that?

Here are a few other thoughts on Joy:

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." - Galatians 5:22-23



“Joy is the by-product of obedience.” - Traditional. 

"Joy is prayer; 
joy is strength: 
joy is love; 
joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls." - Mother Teresa

May you experience God's JOY in your heart today
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Happy place

Where is your happy place?

If you don't know what I am getting at, let me ask it like this:

Where is the place where you feel most content and fulfilled? 

Where is the place where you can breath deeply from the peace of life? 

Where is the place where you feel at HOME?"

I feel that I am blessed to have a few places that I can call my happy place, but the one place where I feel that God speaks clearly to me is at Africa Enterprise in Pietermaritzburg. I go there when I can to retreat and pray. There is just something about that beautiful venue that makes my heart glad and my spirit soar.Of course the beach and the mountains are not far off - I always sense the greatness of God in the tranquility of nature.

Psalm 68:3 - But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.

Perhaps some of us need to visit our happy place soon, so that we can reconnect with our souls?

  
Ecclesiastes 2:26 - To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness.

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness." -Charles Spurgeon

Living in Grace

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Discovering Happiness

My friend Collin preached on "Finding Happiness" this morning and one of the questions he asked was, "What makes you happy?" It is interesting that while many people think that spending money on "things" will make them happy, most of us realise (deep down) that it is relationships that make us feel the most content and happy.

I agree with that. It is my relationships with my family and friends that make me the most happy. I feel blessed to be part of a family and to be loved by them. And I feel blessed to have friends who stand alongside me and support me in my life.

Ultimately I feel honoured to be loved by God and to be in a relationship with God. There is nothing else that comes close to satisfying our deepest longings.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near." - Isaiah 55:2-6

Living in Grace

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Happiness

I came across an interesting poem today. It reads as follows:

"Happiness is a butterfly.
The more you chase it, the more it will elude you.
But if you turn your attention to other things,
It comes and sits softly on your shoulder."

I am not sure how happy you are feeling at the moment, but I recognise that our happiness is often dependent on external factors. If we experience something "nice" we feel happy, but as soon as something goes wrong, then we feel depressed. The bible reflects on happiness in a few places,

"To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." - Ecclesiastes 2:26

"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" - Matthew 25:23

The poem reminds me that if pursuing happiness is my only goal, then it will probably elude me. However, if I love others and seek to do good, then happiness will 'sit softly' on my shoulder.

Worth thinking about....

Prayer Focus: Give thanks to God for all the people in your life who bring a smile to your face.

Living in Grace
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P.S. I read this poem in Trevor Hudson's book "The Serenity Prayer."

An idea of Happiness

What would be your idea of Happiness?

A relaxing holiday?
A good cup of coffee?
A special time with family?
Catching up with an old friend?
Helping someone in need?

This was Tolstoy's idea of Happiness -

“A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.”

Augustine may argue that our true happiness only comes when our hearts find their rest in God:

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”


When you have 20 seconds, please let me know what your idea of Happiness is.... Thanks.


Living in Grace
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