Lamentations 3:17 – My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is . . ..

THEME OF THE DAY. WHERE TRUE HAPPINESS IS FOUND.  The longer I live and observe the world around me, as well as the struggles within me, I am becoming more and more aware of the devastating and deceiving results of sin in the human experience.  There are a lot of things which may be said of this, but I want us to ponder just two; the obsession with humans for happiness and the discontent caused by looking for it in all the wrong places.

The Apostle Paul told a young pastor named Timothy what would characterize the “last days” – “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).  A couple of things about this passage for us to grasp.  First, is this not a correct assessment of our society?  Just go through the list Paul provides and we see this unfolding all around us, perhaps even in our own family and churches.  Another thing, and something to seriously ponder, is the people described are not “God-haters” or even atheists.  In fact, they are religious people.  Might even be professing Christians.  The Apostle says these people “have the appearance of godliness but denying its power.” Let’s not be quick to dismiss this group as “not us” without seeing the deception of professing a faith but living like the world and actually denying the faith by practice. That is what they did.  But there is a third thing in this section which accurately describes our current culture  . . . “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

It doesn’t take much observation to see this obsession in our world.  Look at the money and time given over to sports, hobbies, recreations, relaxation, pleasures, and other forms of entertainment.  And Christians are not immune to these sways of the flesh and devil.  If we could create a balance sheet of our lives with two columns, I wonder what it would look like.  Let’s say we call the sheet “My Free Time This Week”.  One column would list all the hours we gave ourselves over to pursuing personal desires and interests, investing in worldly events and activities, and seeking personal comfort and enjoyment.  The other column would list what hours we gave to the Lord in seeking Him in the Word and prayer; serving hurting people who need Him; investing in the spiritual work in our churches; and reaching out in ministry to His people.  I wonder what my balance sheet would look like?  And what about yours?

There is a very real and present danger facing Christians.  We may easily be allured by the “Siren Songs” of the world in the pursuit of happiness and pleasure and become like the world in those pursuits – seeking them in all the wrong places. And we will know quickly if we are Christians seeking satisfaction, pleasure, and happiness in all the wrong places; we will be discontent, joyless, and always looking for something “new” – a new experience, a new conference, a new concert, a new church, a new book, a new relationship, a new gadget, a new whatever . . . and never finding it. Why?  God has wired us for happiness and pleasure, but He has determined that they will not be found in anything or anyone in the creation, but only in the Creator.

For the Christian, God has provided all we need to be content and happy.  It is Himself.  He has given us His Word, prayer, and His people to draw us to the only true source of happiness and soul-contentment.  If we are fool-hearted, impulsive, and are driven by the flesh more than by faith, our sinful hearts will seek happiness and pleasure in all the wrong places.  And when that journey ends, and it will every time, the results will be regret, wasted time, money, and energy, and a soul still seeking what it initially sought.  Let’s not be like Jeremiah in today’s scripture and forget what happiness is and where it is found. It is found in cultivating a life of pursuing the Lord Jesus and daily living under His complete Lordship.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to find my happiness not in this world but in You, Your Son, Your Spirit, and Your Word.”

QUOTE: “We are wired for happiness by our Creator but He has insured we won’t find happiness apart from Him”