Hello and welcome back! I sincerely hope that all is going well, and is my prayed that God continues to bless you and your family. The ultimate goal here is not to do very well while on-earth, but to one day in the coming future, hold hands together in heaven singing praises to the all loving and eternal God. Get goosebumps just talking about it 😃
So, let me ask you a question... are you happy or do you live in constant happiness? Is there even a difference between the two? Well, let's find out. As we've done before, below here I'm leaving a video that is but a summary of what we'll be discussing here today.
Did you see the video? What are your thoughts? Feel free to reach out and send any comments, feedback, suggestions, questions or concerns. If you enjoy reading more, then let's get to it, are happy and happiness... the same thing?
Happy vs. Happiness
Initially, one might actually be tempted to think that being happy and living with happiness are one in the same, after all, they do even sound like they're both aiming for the same target. The question is, are these two the same? Well, let's take a look at their definitions according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Happy: expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness
Happiness: a state of well-being and contentment
Note that "happy" is indicative, suggestive of happiness but is not necessarily reflective of having happiness. "Happy " is an emotion-driven moment, happiness on the other hand, is a state. So let me ask again, are you happy or do you live with happiness? We can be happy many times in any given day and still live without happiness simultaneously. Either one can exist without the other. Let's paint the picture here for clarity.
I'll never forget Christmas 2012. That was the year I was able to gift my mom one of her life dreams... a travel to Paris and Italy. We departed right before Christmas Day and spend New Years over seas. The trip of a lifetime with unforgettable experiences, yet, something happened back home while we were there. My grandfather, my mom's dad, died while we were on the trip. The family tried to hold back the news from us until they couldn't and while on the trip, we found out we were never going to see grandpa again, he was to be buried days before our return date. Due to financial reasons we could not afford to just go back so, we decided to carry on with the trip. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Vatican City, the Roman colosseum... question, do you think we were happy? Well, a big part of us was indeed and feeing happy to have the blessing to see those places, but, did we had happiness? Of course not, the happy moments would quickly vanish after memories with my grandpa flooded my memory. I was happy from time to time, but deep down, I very sad.
I've seen stories and documentaries with people who had a blast in life right before committing suicide, others on deathbed or with terminal diseases smiling and enjoying the fact that the family gave them a visit, many of them were indeed happy... for the moment... they did not hand inherent happiness. Living with happiness is not about having a constant smile or the constant feeling of being happy, is about a state of the mind that despite what goes down in the surroundings, there's a joy to life because there's hope, love, and appreciation towards the good things in life...
You can have happy moments while living in a state of depression, the 'happy' will go away but your sadness is in the driving seat. On the other hand, you can have sad and angry moments while living in a state of happiness, the 'sad' and/or 'angry' will go away but your happiness is in the driving seat. Which scenario seems more appealing?
Here's the way I see it: any earthly event can potentially makes us feel happy... only God can give us happiness. Let me elaborate.
Happiness and the Bible
Let's just throw it out there, check this verse out:
"To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness..." - Ecclesiastes 2:26
Right out of the bat, God can give happiness and I dare say God is the ONLY ONE that can give happiness. Here's the thing, long and lasting happy moments might be easily confused with having happiness so it can be actually easy for us to 'cheat' ourselves into thinking that we live in a state of happiness when, in reality, we're just experiencing a prolonged happy moment. So why only God can give happiness? Well, as we already defined, living happiness is a state, not a moment emotion and think about it:
We live in a world where guaranteed the people we love will one day die
We live in a world where guaranteed we will one day die
We live in a world filled with violence, disease, starvation, poverty, slavery
Many of us are bound to work for someone else
We live in a world filled with pain and hate
We live in a world where people cheat, steal, disappoint and where marriage vows are taken lightly...
... etc... etc...etc...
With God out of the picture, what can possibly give us a permanent, lasting state of happiness?
"Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." - Psalms 30:4-5
With God in the picture, however, sad, bad or angry moments may still come, but we live in a constant state of happiness because we know what's waiting for us, we know we are loved, and we know that God will come back and make things right and perfect again. With God in our hearts we live a constant state of happiness because we believe in what He did for us and because we know that Jesus' blood cleanse us from all sins and make us new creatures again. With God we are on a state of happiness because:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33
I mean... God makes everything new and better. He feeds the human soul and causes a permanent shift on the human character and condition like no other person, being or thing can do in the Universe. You want to be happy? By yourself a new cellular phone, want to live in a state of happiness? Come to God and accept the sacrifice Jesus did for you. I promise, your life will never be the same.
Until next one my friend! 😃
BY THE WAY...
Don't forget to check out our Podcast in Buzzsprout or Apple Podcasts. A little ago we talked about happiness ✅
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