Looking for Happiness
Are you looking for happiness? Most people are. My heart cries out for all the people who are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. How people are so lost and don’t have any idea where to find what they’ve been looking for all their lives. This is nothing new under the sun though. When you read through the Bible you realize people were acting exactly the same way thousands of years ago than they do now. People are still addicted to lust, allergic to God and looking for happiness in all the wrong places.
Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people. (2 Tim 3:1-5, MSG)
Life is serious business. Our choices do matter. C.S.Lewis states “Our leisure, even our play, is a matter of serious concern. There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”
My heart rejoices when I see how radically some people embracing the call to follow Christ. My heart rejoices because these people are losing everything for Christ and by doing so they’re gaining everything. They’ve found what they’ve been looking for all their lives. They’ve found that Jesus is the answer for everything. Just like C.S. Lewis has said “Look for yourself and you will find loneliness and despair. But look for Christ and you will find Him and everything else”.
For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18, AMP)
If you’re looking for happiness, look no further than Jesus. Happiness is found only in Jesus. You might find substitutions for real joy elsewhere. Nothing but Jesus can bring you happiness in the long run. Nothing but Jesus. But the message of the cross is the power of God. The message of the cross has everything you need now or ever. Just dig deeper: Peace, love, hope, faith, joy and all the good things waiting for you.
Gracious God,
We pray for all the people who are lost
and don’t know you.
May they hear you calling their names
and have courage to turn back to you.
Give us all strength to hang on to your saving grace.
Give us all courage to radically follow you.
Give us peace to choose you day after day.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Q4U: Where do you stand? Have you found what you’ve been looking for? Have you chosen your side? Do you know the power of God?
Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you fight the good fight of the faith day by day.
Image courtesy of Mary Brascia. This post is refurbished from 2011. Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Unforced Rhythms, Playdates with God.
3 thoughts on “Looking for Happiness”
There have been times in my life when I expected way too much from people. I have expected someone else to by my everything…my fun, my love, my happiness. It is so unfair. No human being can fill those shoes. “If you’re looking for happiness, look no further than Jesus,”…now that is all truth!
I so hear you. I’ve been there and done that. Only Jesus can. Only Jesus will. Thanks so much, Laura, for sharing your experiences. Abundant blessings!