God’s Word doesn’t say a whole lot about happiness. In the world, everything tells us to be happy. Indeed, every advertisement is, in some way, telling us that we can be happier if we use their product. The problem with happiness is that it depends on what happens.
A sunshine-only car
Imagine that you have a car that only works when the sun is brightly shining. So, on sunny days, you get to drive your car, but on cloudy days and rainy days and snowy days, you must leave your car in the garage. I don’t think you would want to pay $30,000 for a car like that! You need something better. You need a car you can be sure of regardless of weather conditions.
Happiness is like a sunshine-only car. It’s not dependable, but true joy is robust; it’s strong and reliable. God’s Word is full of promises of joy for those that have put their faith in Jesus and surrendered their lives to Him. Joy is more than a promise, it’s one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Good is good, but better is better
The Holy Spirit lives in every believer, and He imparts to us an impenetrable joy. Happiness is good, but joy is better. The apostle Peter wrote:
Though you have not seen him [Jesus Christ], you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
1 Peter 1:8
God’s joy that He gives to His children is quite remarkable. Our joy is not of this world. As we’ve seen, joy comes from the Holy Spirit, God Himself. It’s no surprise that when we investigate God’s Word, we find joy in heaven. For example, Jesus said:
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:7
So let’s seek to be happy. Let’s enjoy happiness for it is an emotion that God created and imparted to us. Happiness is good. And we can find Scriptures about happiness (Psalm 16:11). But the thing that shines in even the darkest hours is God’s joy in us. It’s God’s joy that is dependable in every kind of weather!
Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash
You may like: The Little Train That Wouldn’t