By Dr. Henderson Ward

"Happiness is neither without us nor within us. It is in God, both without us and within us". Blaise Pascal

Few people would openly admit it but few of them are happy. It is almost unheard of for someone to admit he or she is unhappy, especially if they are in a relationship. And with respect to marriage, this ideal of bringing people together in a loving, productive bond, happiness seems to be as elusive as the proverbial gold at the end of the rainbow.

Everybody wants happiness and yet few find it.

The plain truth is that happiness, when properly understood, is the only state of life that allows a human being to be at peace with himself and his environment.

When you are happy you think all is well and there is a deep feeling of contentment.

Many people desperately want to live happily and to die the same. But, alas, so many end up in deep misery, with lots of regrets and tons of bitterness.

This should not be so, and more importantly, God did not intend for us to be unhappy.

Adam and Eve were quite happy. They bestrode the grounds of their habitation without a care in the world. Everything pleasant came to them naturally. They had no fears, no anxieties, no worries of any kind. They enjoyed an Edenic beauty, and pleasing lifestyle, that following generations could only dream of and imagine.

Yet unhappiness seems to engulf humanity like the atmosphere engulfs the earth. There seems to be no escape, no hiding place, no sanctuary from its ugly embrace.

Some people get to the state of such deep unhappiness and abject misery that they murder themselves, terminate their own life to escape the pestilential gloom. In common parlance they commit suicide to end it all.

Yet from all that you hear, observe and from your own experience it should be absolutely clear that happiness is not just imaginary. Old people think the young are happy, the young think the old is happy; the poor think the rich is happy and the rich think how happy it is to be without the burden of wealth. Everyone thinks everybody else is happy.

Lots of married people think they gave up happiness when they got married; and lots of single people decry their unhappiness and desperately want to get married so that they can be happy.

So where lies the truth?

Happiness is not like being a householder, it cannot materialise in similar fashion. If you want to be a householder, and be classified as such, then you look around and buy a home, or buy land and build a house, and presto, you are a householder.

Happiness is never like that.

There is a fleeting happiness that comes from events. Some people get happiness when they attend parties, or have drinks with friends, or go dancing or such other entertaining, festive activities. But this kind of transitory happiness lasts for the duration of the activity, then the norm ensues until some such activity is undertaken again.

This kind of spasmodic happiness can sometimes highlight, and bring to the surface, the deep-seated and overwhelming discontent consuming an individual.

It is this very same discontent that causes some individuals at parties to drink themselves into a state of stupor. It is as if the very drinking that makes them happy drives them into a state of forgetfulness so that they can be at peace with themself.

But God never intended for humans to be unhappy.

God made humans to be happy, like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and that initial intent, though now lost for greater humanity nevertheless remains a desire of all individuals.

Thers is not a single individual, anywhere on earth, who prefers to be miserable rather than be happy; and everyone seeks to be happy and free from distress.

The very sad thing about humans, their perverted nature dominating, is that genuine happiness can be achieved but not the way commonly pursued.

Since God knows us best, then it is logical and reasonable that He knows best how to dispel our unhappiness and restore some of the Edenic happiness that Adam and Eve possessed.

True happiness is a byproduct of godliness; it starts with God, rests on his assurances and is related to pleasing Him and bringing ourselves in compliance with his will.

The Bible tells us a lot about happiness – in many instances the word “blessed” is used and means the same thing – and everywhere it references Almighty God.

“There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22) Where there is no personal , spiritual peace there is no happiness.

“...and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.” (Proverbs 16:20) Where there is no trust in God then lasting happiness is elusive. To trust in God is to have a relationship with him through Jesus Christ. This is the beginning of true happiness.

Believers, who are committed to Jesus Christ and serve him faithfully and true, have this deep happiness, some people call it joy, that does not pass away under suffering and persecution, under so much that is regrettable and pitiful in the world.

It is true that we are deeply concerned with the troubles of the world, and oft we groan at humanity’s cruelty and lack of care. But we remain committed and happily endure everything for the sake of Jesus Christ: “Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:11)

The reason so many people are looking for true happiness and never finding it is because they are not seeking it where it is found.

True happiness is serving God, glorifying God and pleasing Him by doing His will not just some times but constantly and fully and cheerfully.

David was alluding to this when he wrote, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)

This is the way to true happiness; as so many saints of old have found. This is the way the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11: 4-32 were able to do mighty things for God even though they endured great suffering and trials.

The happiness found in God is not fleeting, tentative and unsure but awesome, deep and very reassuring. It is based on a relationship with Christ in God and will stand the test of time. Just like love it, “...Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7)

This is true happiness as God intended it for all of us, and if you don’t have it then blame no one but yourself.

Enough said.