Looking For Happiness
Everyone is searching for happiness. Most people are looking in the wrong places. It is a terrible shame, too, because the wrong places end up multiplying the misery, instead of bringing them closer to their goal.
It seems like people start looking for happiness in relationships with other people. For many it is in finding the right husband or wife. They just know that if they find the right person, all will be well with life. Then, when financial pressures close in, and there is a lack of communication, the relationship goes south. They are left with a bag full of consequences that are hard to shed, so many end up carrying them around for the rest of their lives, even into other relationships.
Then, there are those who realize that they will not find happiness in another human being, so they seek it in a substance or in an experience. Both of these searches end up in failure. Neither can deliver lasting, real happiness. At best, they give fleeting thrills that only give way to reality. By then, many problems and addictions have surfaced.
However, the truly happy person is the one who comes to grips with the meaning of life. The happy person sees who is in charge, and they submit to Him. They realize that sin causes pain and sadness, so they run away from sin, and they run into the arms of the One who is longing to love them and forgive them for who they are. That person is Jesus. You say, Oh Stan, that's so corny! I ask you to prove me wrong. When has Jesus failed? Who else is there that is eternal and in control of all? Who else has the power to bless you, if you will just know that He is God and live like it? I know the answer to those questions, nobody but Jesus, and He does it all perfectly.
I pray that all of us will quit the search and call out to the One who is right there with you. He can and will deliver the goods.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 21-24.
It seems like people start looking for happiness in relationships with other people. For many it is in finding the right husband or wife. They just know that if they find the right person, all will be well with life. Then, when financial pressures close in, and there is a lack of communication, the relationship goes south. They are left with a bag full of consequences that are hard to shed, so many end up carrying them around for the rest of their lives, even into other relationships.
Then, there are those who realize that they will not find happiness in another human being, so they seek it in a substance or in an experience. Both of these searches end up in failure. Neither can deliver lasting, real happiness. At best, they give fleeting thrills that only give way to reality. By then, many problems and addictions have surfaced.
However, the truly happy person is the one who comes to grips with the meaning of life. The happy person sees who is in charge, and they submit to Him. They realize that sin causes pain and sadness, so they run away from sin, and they run into the arms of the One who is longing to love them and forgive them for who they are. That person is Jesus. You say, Oh Stan, that's so corny! I ask you to prove me wrong. When has Jesus failed? Who else is there that is eternal and in control of all? Who else has the power to bless you, if you will just know that He is God and live like it? I know the answer to those questions, nobody but Jesus, and He does it all perfectly.
I pray that all of us will quit the search and call out to the One who is right there with you. He can and will deliver the goods.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 21-24.