Stop Seeking After Happiness

Les Henson

Many Christian chase after happiness and are disappointed when it alludes them. They were promised that if they came to Jesus, they would be happy and they cannot understand why they are continually frustrated. The result is they seek one experiences after another, only to discover that after a few days or weeks they are back to square one. The trouble is that happiness is never lasting and it was never meant to be. In reality, Jesus never promised happiness. Unscrupulous evangelist might have made such promises, but Jesus never did! The problem is that such Christians are confusing happiness with joy. Happiness is a temporary emotion based upon one’s feelings, while joy is a confidence that functions regardless of one’s mood. Joy is the certainly that comes from faith in Christ that one is safe and secure in Christ regardless of how one may feel.

As followers of Christ our focus must be upon Christ as the focus of our faith. Though faith we discover that Christ has delivered us from the slavery of the here and now. He alone gives us deep and meaningful joy. A Joy that is not dependant upon our feeling or our circumstances, but rather a joy that is not momentary nor subject to change. Such joy is based upon the reliability of God, to whom we are relate in Christ, and he will never leave us, nor forsake us. Pope Francis states that, “A Christian is one who is invited . . . to join in the feast, to the joy of being saved, to the joy of being redeemed, to the joy of sharing life with Christ.”