The Truth About Happiness

God's plan for our lives is far superior than any plan our human minds can devise.

We're so limited in our thinking, basing our wants and needs on what we've picked up from a very broken world. A world that knows nothing about happiness to begin with.

During the pandemic, I, along with millions of others, enrolled in Yale's free online course, The Science of Well Being. One of the big takeaways is that we are terrible at knowing what truly makes us happy. We overestimate the happiness that comes with wealth, success and status.

Up near 50% is believed to be genetic. (In that case, a lot of us are doomed.)

40% comes from intentional activities.

And just 10% is influenced by our circumstances.

Yet we chase that 10% like it holds the key.

Maybe that's why some of the happiest people I've ever met, live below the poverty line.

And why some of the most miserable have everything money can buy.

So even Yale had to admit what the Bible has taught for centuries,

Nothing external can satisfy a soul that was created for God.

If you're searching for joy, peace, well being, you have to start with the One who created them. He designed each of us with a space that can only be filled by Him.

Cheap things, clothes, shoes, cars, houses, even food, might bring a quick hit of pleasure. But it's not the same as something that's made to last.

A well tailored suit for instance, can last a lifetime.

A nice, reliable car.

A filet mignon instead of a tough cut.

Maybe those aren't the best analogies when comparing God to worldly pleasures but you get the idea. God provides something of substance. A lifetime of joy. Actually it's for all eternity. That's the idea. When all things pass away, this earth and everything in it, we get to stay safe and sound with Him.

That's true joy.

That's peace.

My favorite Old Testament King (after David) Solomon, had a lot to say on the subject.

Ecclesiastes 2:11- "Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done...and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind."

Solomon knew. He found out the hard way that real happiness, real peace, has nothing to do with worldly pleasures but from the simple, God given gifts we often overlook.

Family.

Relationships.

Purposeful work.

Using our talents to bless others.

Worshiping the One who gave it all.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13- "I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor- it is a gift from God."

Let's stop grasping for the wind. Find joy in what's real. What will last.

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This was a bit startling

Teens eating all the food