by Carel Chan
“Are You (Truly) Happy?”
For the past years, the world has been attempting to measure “Happiness”, by identifying the metrics for “Happiness”. Metrics such as, “Income”, “Freedom, “Healthy Life Expectancy”, “Social Support from Family and Friends”(I call it the quality of relationships), etc., identified by the World Happiness Report have been used to provide information on how happy the world is.
“Are these timeless metrics for Happiness?” “What is Happiness?”
The world defines Happiness by the enjoyment of pleasures and a state which desires have been gratified. However, the pursuits of these sensational pleasures only render one only temporarily Happy. This is because our indefinite hunger for more will always leave us momentarily “Happy”. The continuous reliving of these pleasures will cause them to lose their ability to satisfy us, triggering us to quest for the next “better” things and yet again only to realise that these will also last for a little while. The chase for gratifications, desires and pleasures to satisfy our vanity is endless.
On top of that, each time when our expectations are met, they are being raised. Our lofty expectations soon become the source of our unhappiness, when we are being greeted with disappointments. Let’s be real, life does not always serve us with a bed of roses. The greater our disappointments, the less “Happy” we become. Is this the kind of vicious cycle we want to relive every moment of our lives? What if there is a dependable remedy to living Happy?
Jesus said in John 14:6 (AMP), “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. God is the Source of Life, and the only Way to Him is through Jesus Christ.
Regardless of how the world measures “Happiness”, I believe in one thing – When we go to the Source of Happiness, we will have all we need to live happy and be happy. But many keep up an earnest and futile pursuit of Happiness in all directions except going to the One and Only Way who leads us to the Source of Life. Only when we go to the Source of Life will we truly experience what it means to be living “Happy”.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God and that she would name Him Jesus. At that instance, Mary was not able to reconcile with what the angel had said because she was a virgin. She could not comprehend how that could happen as this defied the natural. But the angel told her, “For nothing is impossible with God.” With this, Mary believed and surrendered her life to the Lord.
A few days later, Mary went to visit Elizabeth, her relative. At the sight of Mary, the baby Elizabeth had conceived for six months, jumped for joy in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed to Mary, “How Happy you are to believe that the Lord’s message to you will come true!” (Luke 1:45, GNT).
Happy are those who believe the Lord’s message to them will come true. When Jesus said, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His One and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NLT), do you believe?
The result of encountering, believing and receiving Jesus in our lives is great joy. It is mega gladness and happiness because we have found the Source of Life. In Jesus, we have salvation, protection, freedom, provision, health, reconciliation, and much more. Today, if you are searching for the way to live Happy, search no more. Jesus is your Source of Life and Happy are those who believe in Him.
“You love Him, although you have not seen Him, and you believe in Him, although you do not see Him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express, because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in Him.” – 1 Peter 1:8-9 (GNT)
And now that you have decided to receive Jesus as your Source of Life, your Savior and Lord, pray this prayer with me:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against You and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You are the Son of God and came to die for my sins and have risen from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. I believe You are the Source of my life, the true Source to living Happy. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.”
Welcome to this Happy Family at River Church! We want to rejoice and share our happiness as a Church with you. Click on this link and leave us your contact details. You can also visit our Sermon Series for more inspirational messages on Remarkable 2021+.