Discovering True Joyনমুনা

Understanding Happiness and Joy

“All I care about is your happiness.” “Do what makes you happy.” Have you heard someone say one of these phrases before? 

It’s likely you have. The truth is many of us can appreciate these heartfelt statements because we crave happiness. And we’ll do almost anything to obtain it!

But of course we would.  Who doesn’t want to be happy? 

How do you chase happiness? Is it owning the latest trendy clothes or electronics? Or watching your garden grow? Maybe helping others makes you happy.

However you find happiness, do you feel satisfied once you reach it? Does it fulfill your “happiness equilibrium?” 

The traveler in the film was so fixated on the candy bar he was willing to risk getting in trouble to get it! 

What desperate acts do we attempt as we reach for happiness? If we’re not careful, we can resort to unhealthy and impulsive decisions. Maybe we think these moments of instant gratification will lead us into a place of happiness. 

There’s nothing wrong with having fun or seeking out entertainment, but when we use them to feed our longing for contentment it becomes an idol. Ecclesiastes 1:14 calls it “a chasing after the wind.” 

When we idolize something we can start to believe it will give us worth, beauty, power or more happiness. It won’t. 

What is the difference between happiness and true joy? Happiness is a shared emotion everyone experiences, but joy is a deeper, mysterious gift that the Holy Spirit lends freely to anyone in a relationship with Christ. Joy isn’t dependent on anything but the Holy Spirit. 

In 1 Chronicles 16:26-27, we learn that in addition to God the Creator, there are many gods, things that people value more or in place of the Creator. This can be more than a statue or shrine but possessions, relationships, or ideologies, for example. God directs our attention instead to Himself, to His dwelling place where there is strength and joy. Strength emboldens us to say “no” to things and activities that don’t line up with the Bible. And joy flows out of the presence of God.  

When we chase happiness, we don’t naturally include God. That’s why we may be happy for an hour or a day or even a few months, but then we’re back to discontentment. We become unhappy. So we chase after more of what makes us happy. The cycle never ends. 

With Christ, we have everything our soul, mind and body need not just to be happy, but joyful. 

Each day is an opportunity for new joy!