We Were Not Created to Be Happy (Guest Post)
The last two Wednesday night’s at Bible Study, Mrs. Laurel has been talking about marriage. That is a weird topic for someone like me, who is divorced and single. I do hope to be remarried one day though, so I went and took plenty of notes.
This whole topic is what jumped out at me last night.
A LOT of marriages end because someone “Isn’t happy.”
Well, guess what? You weren’t created to be happy anyway!
Mrs. Laurel said, “Happiness is a by-product of what God created us to BE, not DO. When you make happiness your purpose, you don’t feel like it’s enough once you reach it.”
Happiness is based on circumstances. That’s why it doesn’t last. It can go away quickly.
For example, maybe you want a new rug for your home, or new shoes, or to be a certain weight, or to have your hair a certain way, or spicy Chic-Fil-A nuggets, or the latest tech gadget…. you just KNOW you’ll be happy when that happens. Right?
Wrong!
Once you get whatever it is you think will make you happy, you almost immediately start thinking about the next thing that will make you happy.
What we should be striving for is JOY!
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is actually already inside of you if you are a Christ follower. It’s not one of the things that God gives to certain people. Gifts and fruits of the Spirit are two different things.
In my Christine Caine devotional book “Living Life Undaunted” today, she listed 10 things backed up with Scripture that are the keys to living for God, and I believe the way to have a joyful life.
- Stay focused on Jesus.(Hebrews 12:2)
- Draw near to Jesus.(Hebrews 10:22)
- Hold fast the confession of our hope.(Hebrews 10:23)
- Stay confident in Christ.(Hebrews 10:35)
- Pray(James 5:16)
- Listen to the right voices.(Romans 10:17)
- Remember God’s faithfulness thus far.(Joshua 4:7)
- Remain steadfast.(1 Corinthians 15:58)
- Remain generous. (Proverbs 11: 24-25)
- Be thankful.(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
These 10 ways of living will help us stay focused on what’s important and not get distracted by our circumstances.
Like I always say, bad things happen to good people. Not because God causes it, but because we live in a fallen sinful world, and because we have an enemy in this world.
I hope and pray that you will receive what I’m saying with this. I believe someone needs it.
God loves you and He wants to help you get through the junk. He’s right there.
God bless you today and always.
Guest Post Bio
This post was generously provided by Jill Barlow, she is a writer, blogger, mother and dreamer. Her personal blog can be found at Java with Jill where
she shares her walk with her Lord and Savior and might even pull up a chair to share a cup of coffee. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest
About Charles Johnston
Charles is a Christian, husband and father of fur-kids who shares his walk with others in hopes to help other's along the way.
It is true – once one thing in life is attained, you always want something else. That is why God should be #1 in your life, and everyone else 2nd, then yourself last. We are all selfish by nature, and need to learn how to live doing for others as you would have them do for you. Once you have peace in your heart, the joy will overflow. Very good article, Jill!
Thank you Candace! Thank you Charles for letting me guest post!
I like the list. Truth is our human brains can’t fathom why God does anything he does except one thing. He gives us free will. The same way you wouldn’t want your next partner to like you because they have to, you want them to like you for you. That’s why I think God is for separation of church and state. If he wanted us to be mindless drones that worship him he could have done it. But he gave us free will so we can choose to love him.
We may not have been expressly created for the purpose of being happy. But there is one premise you are basing your article on that is not true. You are saying that in getting married you should accept that happiness goes away. Happiness is a feeling. You as a person are responsible for your own feelings. If the happiness goes away you aren’t supposed to just sit and accept the fact that you’ll no longer be happy. You take responsibility for your own feelings and make yourself happy. God loves us and when you love someone you want them to be happy. God wants us to be happy but he’s not going to hold our hand and do it for us. If you find you are no longer happy and want to just accept that because it isn’t what we were created for that’s your right to do so.
But I think we’re here to do a lot of learning about personal responsibility and that starts with our own feeling. As much as it may seem feeling just happen to us ( I still feel that way all the time) we have to remind ourselves that we choose how to feel based on our beliefs.
I think you may be setting yourself up for another failure and I know what that’s like having been divorced in 2008 and now finding myself in a very happy relationship. We both build around our Christian beliefs and we choose to be happy. If we are not happy, its because we are choosing not to be. Our God is huge having breathed the stars into existence. But he doesn’t tell us how to feel. He wants us to make good choices. Just my opinion. I dig your blog and hope you will check mine out at jesuschristsocialist.com
Kev
Kevin, I do not accept you trying to curse me by saying I’m setting myself up for failure. I disagree whole heartedly. I am living for God and He is leading my life. We have joy, deep down unspeakable joy and that’s better than happiness any day. God has a plan and purpose for everyone and He does what He wants to, simply because He’s God. He does want us to make good wise choices. That’s for sure.