Stolen Joy
In Search of Happiness
Watching commercials is a great way to feel the emotional and social temperature of a culture. Advertisers have taken notice that people want happiness in life; to chase their bliss or search for joy. It seems that every product in the world uses the same slogan "We can make you more happy."
The world offers so many options that seem to bring an experience of happiness, but this can also make finding lasting happiness confusing and frustrating. Like a deflated helium balloon, happiness placed in things is fleeting. As temporary enjoyment fades there is nothing left but to chase the next empty promise. The uncertainty of this kind of life leaves us unsatisfied and steals the efforts that belong to the pursuit of something better than temporary happiness.
As Christians we believe that true happiness and joy is different search all together.
Joy Found in the Gospel
It can be tempting, as we watch the world in their search happiness, to believe that what they have looks good and that in some way we might be missing out. Don't let the search for is limited enjoyment it rob you of the joy that is to be found by resting in the promises of God.
This is where the Gospel alone speaks to our soul with words of true joy. The Gospel alone speaks the truth that joy can never be found in things and the Gospel alone offers the only true joy of a right relationship with the almighty God.
The restorative power of the Gospel offers restoration in the heart of humanity and a renewed relationship with God, which give us hope to one day know the true joy in the presence of the almighty.
5 Ways to teach your Children to Pursue Joy
1) Model contentment for your children. As we lean into our faith, our children will see our contentment and learn that we truly believe that there is no other place to find lasting joy than in a relationship with our creator.
2) Handle disappointment well. Sometimes we reveal the depth of our faith as we experience disappointment and trials. If we shut down or get angry when disappointments come, we present a shallow faith that does not have roots to get through adversity.
3) Be consistent in faith. Displaying faith in the Gospel on a day to day basis will help our children catch a glimpse of longevity of joy found in the Gospel.
4) Let Christ be preeminent. True faith in the Gospel has a focus on Christ and submission to His will. Our children will know if we are following Jesus by the way we talk about Him and the emphasis we give Him in our daily walk.
5) Invite your children to follow you to true joy. Our children are inherently asking the question, "How can I find happiness?" If we are not able to answer this question for them, they will seek it in other ways. We ought to invite our children in to the lasting joy that we have found in Christ.
