How to Find Spiritual Happiness: Three Secrets
To discover how to find spiritual happiness, wouldn’t sitting beside a quiet stream make you at least feel happy?
Positioned beside gurgling water, wading knee-deep in cool water, or watching the stream idle by describes an idyllic setting.
That’s true until you return to your car and happiness disappears suddenly. Your smartphone signals you have 4 text messages and 5 voicemails. The car’s headliner sags (you were gone 30 minutes) and the kids left the Cheerio box open. Ugh—life happens.
Enjoying pretty scenery is not the unwavering happiness Christians have in mind. A constant state of contentment that comes from deep within is what you and I long for. I want the same frame of mind King David had when writing Psalm 23 (see Part 1 and Part 2 of my mini Bible study). He’s as mellowed and matured as a juicy piece of watermelon, unmoved by life’s difficulties.
How to Find Spiritual Happiness and Its Secrets
I admit. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you’re happy. There are plenty of situations to sort out down here. You and I endure tribulation, walk through the shadow of death, and face temptations. Christians feel rejected, misunderstood, and judged as having nothing between their ears.
Even so, there’s an approach we can take when the world’s violence, mistrust, and evil grow stronger. We can look away from what we see and gaze upon what we do have. Eternal salvation through Jesus should have us kicking up our heels. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior should make you very happy. So, what’s missing in your life when you can’t smile and joy left long ago?
Every Christian transitions from living without God to living with Him. You soon find out that what’s in your head has nothing to do with what’s in your heart. On your Christian journey, God brings good out of the bad things that happen. That’s because salvation is a joint covenant between you and Him. He’s very aware of what you deal with every day.
With that said, the best things you experience are ahead of you in heaven. That, in itself, is enough to make you and me gloriously happy.
Still, learning how to be happy (consistently serene, glad) is a vital skill to live on earth.
What is happiness in life?
How to Find Spiritual Happiness Secret #1: It Isn’t Based on Circumstances
Life gets complicated when normal everyday stuff becomes problematic. For example, my sister died at age 50 from multiple sclerosis. She suffered 10 years from a disease that progressed quickly. As much as I wanted to see her healed, she never recovered.
I was unhappy to see her lose bodily functions but overjoyed she was in heaven upon death. In fact, after her death in a vision, I saw her resting on a white, wrought iron bench! Her circumstances were dire here, yet in heaven, all was well. I felt calm assurance—happiness— even though I felt sad because she suffered. Plus, I missed her.
Everyone has their story to tell of less-than-desirable circumstances. Marriages break up, loved ones pass, and cruel diseases take lives. We struggle to stay close to our Creator while here in preparation to see Him face-to-face in heaven.
How to Find Spiritual Happiness Secret #2: Things Don’t Satisfy
I’ve spent too many days chasing my tail like a dog for things that don’t satisfy me. If I could live in a different house every few years, I would. The newness of a different environment, homes with poles apart architecture, and decorating thrill me to no end. However, when the excitement and freshness wear off, I know those “things” are fleeting and don’t develop true happiness.
Instead, studying the Bible, praying, and sitting quietly are rituals that develop a foundation on which to build happiness. It’s illogical to think that you and I should live in a state of bliss where nothing gets to us. God put emotions in us to feel life and become a part of His living and breathing creation. It’s possible to have inner peace you can’t explain when living in a chaotic world.
How to Find Spiritual Happiness Secret #3: Learning How To Be Happy
In spite of persecution and trouble, Christians find happiness by trusting God, Proverbs 16:20, obedience, John 13:15-17, and wisdom Proverbs 3:13-18. Trusting God and no one else takes a lifetime when people fail you time and again. It’s hard to believe that He’s trustworthy when those close to you aren’t.
Obedience to God may take just as long as trusting Him. The Israelites took 40 years to complete an 11-day trip from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land, Deuteronomy 1:2. Their trip took decades because they were disobedient and acted like they knew more than God. Abominations, idols, enemies, and other distractions got in the way of doing things God’s way.
Wisdom logically follows next after you learn how to trust and obey God. Scripture refers to wisdom as the tree of life that brings happiness. Wisdom far outweighs the value of jewels and creates paths of pleasantness and peace Proverbs 3:17-18. I’m willing to give all three a try (trusting God, obedience, and wisdom) and see if their permanence in my heart shows up on my face.
As already mentioned, circumstances and things are deterrents to long-term happiness. Thankfully, God inspired people to write His thoughts down so we’d have the Bible as a primary resource. The Bible offers trust, obedience, and wisdom. That seems like a logical plan to secure happiness in life.
In my lifetime, I’ve failed to put enough effort toward knowing how to find spiritual happiness. Over the years, this truth surfaced. Staying close to the Creator NOW— so I can gaze into His face later— is the best-kept secret to finding true happiness in life.