Happiness… everyone wants it, many pursue it, but few enjoy it for any length of time?  We listen with disbelief when someone claims to know the way to lasting happiness in this life. Is lasting happiness even achievable today? Or are we forced we wait until Christ’s return?  The secular definition of joy is “lasting happiness.”

Many joys of this life are short lived.  What might make a person happy at a particular moment in life may be comfort food, an exciting ride on a roller coaster or just the chance to snooze an extra hour in the morning.  The trouble with all those joys is that eventually the stomach is full, the thirst is quenched and even the roller coaster ride loses its attraction. Then we usually turn to other entertainment to furnish our happiness.

Psalm 16:11
New Living Translation (NLT)

11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Jesus claims that He came to bring life to His children… abundant life.  It is a quality of life from which pleasure and joy overflow.  Those who have embarked on this way of life do find joy in His presence. Even without physically seeing Him, we can be in His presence now to a remarkable degree.

He rejoices in solidifying lasting relationships with us.  Joining others to His Family fills God with much joy. With His spiritual creation in full swing, we can be sure that the rejoicing in heaven is greater now than on the day the foundations of the earth were laid, when all the angels shouted for joy.  Now we know how to increase His happiness and how to share in it. All that remains is the effort to produce and sustain it.

Questions to ask yourself…

  1. Do you have the Joy of the Lord?
  2. Did you know that God wants you to be as happy as He is?
  3. Are you prepared to share this Joy with others?