How to Find Happiness With God

As featured in January’s issue of Christ Magazine.

Writer Note: Some very simple steps can be taken to find Happiness with God. But in the end, only one thing brings true happiness. Keep reading to out find what exactly that is and the journey to find our happiness.

How many reading this have been unhappy at some point in their lives? Let’s raise those hands high. How many people are unhappy at this very minute? Come on, get those hands up. We have all been there. We are humans. It happens. But, we don’t have to stay unhappy. What, is that even possible? I was sitting in church a few weeks ago in a very grumpy mood. The Pastor started preaching about joy. It was like a light went off over my head. It dawned on me when he said it’s because we still have joy because we know God. God will always be there no matter how awful life might seem. He never leaves us. So we have no reason to be unhappy because we have joy. 

“Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!”

Psalm 144:15 NKJV

There are things we can do to bring happiness back.

Think about the little things in life. It might be as small as “I got up.” I do segments now and again called “Ask Abby Girl.”I ask my daughter random questions and she answers. We did a segment a while ago on happiness. I just revisited that segment now that she is four and asked her the same question. She replied without missing a beat, “mommy.” She did then flipped it and ironically said “What makes you sad?” and replied, “When daddy goes to work.” So perhaps we should bring our thoughts back to a simpler time. The innocence of a child because they come up with the most obvious, simple things that make them happy. Seriously, how many small children do we see walking around in a constant bad mood?

We can also think about why we are where we are.

Everything happens for a reason even if it seems unfair. At that moment, we might forget that and in our unhappiness miss what God is trying to show us. We must always keep those eyes open and listen all around us. Perhaps we are where we to show us something or perhaps it’s even through our experiences we can use what we are going through to inspire others. We must persevere through all that happens. 

“2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3 NIV

The Real World Versus The Woods

I’m a travel and adventure blogger by trade. My daughter and I meet all kinds of people. It’s funny, in the real world, we get some very sad stories. People randomly come up and share everything with me. The stories I hear can be heartbreaking or people are just plain grumpy because their coffee wasn’t how they liked it that morning.

However, in the woods, we have never met a grumpy person. Everyone seems so helpful, carefree and at peace and my daughter and I have hiked over three hundred miles in her four years of life. That’s a lot of people to meet wandering in the woods! A lot of why at least I hike is for the spiritual aspect. It’s a time when I can leave everything behind and be closer to God. When I climb a mountain, it makes me feel as if I can tackle anything life tosses my way. It seems like in the woods, people cast their worries aside and leave them at home. People aren’t really focused on materialistic things out there. This is a big source of people’s unhappiness in life. 

-Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV

Perhaps we should apply the same principles we find in the woods. Remember, God doesn’t want us unhappy. He wants us to trust him. Kind of like the trust we put in ourselves to summit mountains or cross that rickety bridge. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3- 5-6 NIV

Here is the big kicker

We can do all these things to keep us happy. But, it’s just a bandaid because the true and only way we will have real happiness is through the joy of knowing Christ. We need to read the Bible. Get to know God. Trust in Him.  Remember, as I said before, God will never leave you. I encourage everyone to find someone to talk to or even talk to God. Where’s your happy? 

Well, as long as we know God,  it will never leave you because you have joy and that’s all that matters. 

“The joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10 NIV

To learn about how a STOP sign can help you find your joy, read How to find a message from God in a Stop Sign

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