Happiness
...one of Britain’s top social leaders said, “I have lost all desire to live, yet I have everything to live for.” In all of these instances the world’s view of happiness is proven to be false. Millions of people who are well off are still in search for true happiness because they feel something within their soul is missing and incomplete. Too many people think they could find happiness on their own and are deceived. For example, whenever I felt down I would go shopping and buy a brand new outfit to wear, thinking it would make me feel better. However, new clothes did not keep me happy for long. After I had worn out the clothes I had purchased, I felt no more satisfaction in wearing them. Over the years I have discovered that true happiness is not found in these earthly things. There is more to happiness than having things or being free from troubles because this kind of happiness is fleeting and superficial. When the circumstances change, this kind of happiness seems to vanish. Jesus once told His disciples, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The “things” Jesus spoke of were the basic needs of life: food, drink, clothes, and shelter. He told us not to make these the goal of our lives but to “seek the kingdom,” and these needs would be automatically supplied. This is the kind of happiness everyone desires, a happiness that can only come from God. He alone is the answer to our search for everlasting happiness. Mary Baxter defines happiness that God provides as “The happiness and contentment that fills the soul even in the midst of the most distressing of circumstances and the most adverse environment.” The happiness God provides is not one that can be determined by success or failure, but it is deep within us and gives us inward relaxation, peace, and satisfaction. The most joyous book in the New Testament comes from the pen of an author chained to a Roman guard. It astonishes me that a rational man like Paul could devote a letter to the topic of joy while he was in a place of suffering. The reason joy could come in such an environment is Paul looked to God to provide his happiness. He searched for the kingdom of God before all other things. In Philippians we find that Paul points to his ...