The Pursuit of Happiness

–>Trying to find true joy in life? Looking for answers on how to be happy? Read this!<–

Just smile. Just smile and pretend that you’re happy! Everyone does it right? Everyone fakes it until they make it! All you have to do is keep sending positive vibes to the universe and you’ll vibrate waves of happiness, right? If you just get this degree, this certain job, that promotion, that car, or that new house THEN you’ll feel true joy. You’d really and truly be at peace. Or would you? Perhaps in your desperate attempt to pursue what you think a better life for you would be, you’ve found yourself being even less happy than you were before. In your pursuit of happiness, you’ve lost a lot more than you thought you would. Your pursuit of happiness has made you start to question, what is real happiness? From what I’ve experienced true joy can only be found in Jesus Christ.

A lot of people in this upcoming generation are all about positive vibes and faking (or faithing it) until you make it, and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with thinking positive and there is definitely nothing wrong with having faith, but I am saying there is more power in choosing to trust in God no matter what the outcome of your life is going to be. This is real faith. You can think positive and happy thoughts towards your life all you want, but when life keeps hammering you over and over with trial after trial and test after test, you’ll start realizing that this ‘positive vibes’ and ‘think happy’ movement just doesn’t work at all! It doesn’t produce true joy and peace and your thoughts and positivity definitely can NEVER trump God’s thoughts and plan. You’ll need some real power and truth to combat situations like this, and this power only can come from God and His Word.

I went through a series of unfortunate events in my late teens and my early 20’s that could not have been prevented by me even if I tried. This caused a delay in my goals and aspirations that I wanted to achieve and I felt so behind in life, and sometimes still do, despite having valid reasons for not achieving my goals. I was a clean-cut, stayed to myself, and by the book type of girl when I was younger. I never got into any trouble and tried my best to follow God as well as obeying my parents, but my life still ended up being a wreck! I often felt dumb, worthless, and like a complete failure, which I definitely was not. The only thing I could think was “Jesus! Where did I go wrong?!” I really didn’t understand what God was trying to do in my life at that time.  I didn’t understand that there was an assignment on my life. I didn’t understand that God saw something greater in me than I saw in myself.

We often see our pursuit of happiness—our goals—as the end all be all of life. We think that our plans are the best solution to that void that we feel in our hearts and that if everything goes perfectly the way we think it should go THEN we will be happy. Well, God showed me that happiness that I was pursuing was as flimsy as a thin piece of paper blowing in the wind! When you pursue something that can be blown away by the winds and storms of life, is it really a valid form of happiness? Do you want happiness that continues to go up and down like the waves of the sea, never really stabilizing or do you want the joy that God brings which is everlasting? God truly has shown me that what I was pursuing was so much smaller than what He had in mind.

Perhaps you are now experiencing a ‘high’ time in your life of worldy success? You got that job, promotion, house, car, or whatever else it was that you dreamed of getting. When you first achieved those things, you felt great because everyone cheered you on for getting them. In their eyes you are a success, but there’s a sinking feeling in your heart. Something that’s tugging on your spirit man that is craving for more.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15(NIV)

Don’t be like the people in the world, that when you crave for something more than what you have you just continue to keep taking and taking and moving onto bigger and better. What is God telling you to do? Did God tell you to go get that degree that you now regret pursuing because it’s taking time away from your loved ones? Did He tell you to go and buy that car that you are now having difficulty even paying for the gas? Did He tell you to get the house that you now have difficulty paying the rent for? This generation has a huge problem with greed and selfish ambition. We crave more and more because we do not realize that there is only One person who can truly satisfy our hunger.

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

John 6:35(ESV)

 Then we expect God to help us to pay for and deal with problems and things that He never intended for us to deal with because He never told us to take on those things in the first place. You expect Him to pay for the student loans for the degree He never told you to do, you expect Him to help you open up your schedule from the overly busy job that He never told you to take, and you pretty much expect Him to be responsible for everything wrong that you chose. Well, honey, although God does help us when we mess up(read about that HERE), there are consequences for the choices we make in life that are a sin. Sometimes God will clear up everything when we make a mistake, but sometimes you have to live with the consequences of the choices you’ve made, so God can teach you to follow His leading and not blow Him off. This does not mean God will not help redirect you to the right path in life, it just means that you will have to be responsible for the choices you make in life.

So, what does your pursuit of happiness look like in comparison to God’s plan for your life? Are you just pursuing money because you grew up in a family that had lack of wealth and don’t want to be ‘poor’ anymore? Are you pursuing a career as a doctor because it will make you look better than your friends and family? Are you pursuing getting a ‘mansion’ because you want to show off? There’s nothing wrong with pursuing these things, but if you’re seeking them more the Kingdom of God, you will find yourself coming up empty every time. You will find yourself losing things that you should’ve never lost on your journey to something that God never really designed for you to acquire.

When you chase after God first, He will add everything that HE desires for you to have in life. Everything that He promised you, you will gain, but when you go your own pathway, there is no guarantee that you will sustain what you’ve obtained and there is no guarantee that you will inherent the earthly promises that God had planned for you. If you have been caught in the whirlwind of pursing your own happiness and find yourself empty right now, I encourage you to rededicate your life back to Christ and seek Him above everything else. He will guide you and show you where you should be going next. It’s never too late to find true joy that only God brings.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33(KJV)

———————————————ABOUT THE AUTHOR—————————————————–

 

Hi, my name is Adrianna! I’m a young woman who has a whole lot of faith and a whole lot of love for God’s people! Currently, I’m an Engineer student, who works as well. I love to write, I love to draw, and I love to code. So, I decided to combine all my talents into Missionary Gamer. My prayer is that these blog posts and all I do encourage and edify you in your journey with God.