“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
1 John 1:3-4 KJV
We all want our joy to be full. Anyone who says that they don’t want to be happy is either lying or has been hurt to the place that they are familiar with and feel safer in their depression and misery. Thankfully for all of us, the end to our quest for happiness is simple. True joy is not found in the absence of problems or in material things; true joy is only found in having fellowship (relationship) with Jesus. Christians should be the happiest people on earth!
There are reasons why you could be unhappy – but the answer to every one of those problems always comes back down to perspective and focus. What are you focused on? Your life follows your focus, and so if you’re miserable, I have good news for you: your emotions are completely yours to control. You hold the power to determine your level of joy.
Joy isn’t dependent on circumstances – the apostle Paul wrote his most joy-filled letter from prison (not a very nice place) where he was imprisoned for his faith. He wrote to the Philippians saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). If you focus on your circumstances and on all the bad news that the world has to offer, then you’ll be depressed.
Real joy isn’t dependent on circumstances. You may be going through such a rough patch that there is absolutely nothing good about your life right now. If you allow your joy to depend on your circumstances (you’re happy when things go well, and you’re sad when things go tough) then your emotions will continually fluctuate – they’ll be up and down like a yo-yo. That is not God’s will for you.
True joy starts in fellowship with Jesus and flows from fellowship with Him, too. Even though circumstances may be bad, there is always a reason to rejoice in the Lord. The only reason a Christian would be sad is that they focus on something bad and neglect to focus on what we have in Christ.
“Then he says, “I will forget their sins and never again remember the evil they have done.”
Hebrews 10:17 ERV
This is enough to keep you happy: God isn’t remembering your wrongdoing but has chosen to forgive you! Yes, you might be going through a difficult day and yes, God cares about you and wants to help you through it. But if you put your today in perspective, in light of eternity and what you have in Christ, dealing with today will be much easier. What you focus on you give strength to – so choose to focus on Jesus and what you have in Him.
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