Reason #896
“Do what makes you happy. No one else is going to be concerned about making you happy as much as you are, and no one else can.” My dad’s words. He’s a straight shooter, and it’s true. Do what makes you happy. Now, that might seem like a bold and entitling statement. It might seem like one of those phrases that people use to get out of situations or make up for their bad behavior. Ultimately, happiness isn’t the goal. It’s a nice by-product, but happiness is just a feeling. And the reality is, no one can make you feel as happy as you can decide to be.
Counselor Mark told me, “Jesus came to give us an abundant life, not a happy one.” Nowhere in scripture does the Lord talk about and promise happiness. That’s the world’s promise, which is never fulfilled. Because we can always think of something that makes us happier, right? If we were skinner, prettier, popular, wealthier, more successful, or more powerful than we’d be happier. And so we start to chase those things. We’ll make ourselves happy. And we do what we think should usher in complete happiness only to realize it didn’t work. We don’t feel any happier than we did before. In fact, we might actually even feel a little less happy than we anticipated. Back to the drawing board we think. What else can we do, acquire, or achieve to make us happy. The truth is, nothing. Because when you are looking for happiness, when you’re searching and seeking to fulfill your selfish desires, you’re going to end up with one thing. Disappointment.
Funny how we think we can find happiness and yet we have a way of disappointing ourselves like no one else can. Disappointment is the unfulfilled promise of happiness. That’s what we find. Because we can always want more no matter how much we have. We can always want to look better no matter how good we look. We can always do more no matter how much we’ve done. And I’ve come to realize that if you want to find true happiness, the key is to stop. Stop looking, stop trying, stop acquiring and stop believing the lie that you can make it happen. Stop chasing happiness and choose it. Choose to be happy with what you have, with how you look, and with what you’ve done. Choose to follow God’s will, to obey it and submit to it, rather than following your own selfish desires. God will take care of things for you if you’ll just let Him, and it truly is amazing how following His will, doing things His way, brings about so much more happiness than chasing the things you want.
I struggle with choosing to be happy. I struggle with not changing my circumstances to try and ensure my own happiness. But I’ve learned this lesson time and time again. Every time I’ve pursued the things of this world that I thought would make me happy, I’ve been disappointed. And so I’ve tried to stop. I’ve tried to really trust the Lord and be obedient to His will. I’ve tried to lay aside my selfish desires and really consider what God has called or is calling me to do. And when I stopped trying to find happiness, happiness found me. In a way I didn’t expect, anticipate, or even imagine, the Lord presented me with an opportunity I never thought I’d have again.
So choose to be happy. Choose to let the Lord work out His plans for your life. Choose to follow Him even when you might not feel happy about what’s going on because feelings are temporary. They will change when your circumstances do. And remember that no one, not even you, can ensure your happiness. But loving the Lord, following Him, abiding in His will, and obeying His commands has a really unique and unrivaled way of bringing about a happiness we could never find on our own.
#896 - Because He gives us a happiness we could never find on our own.
"So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can." - Ecclesiastes 3:12