How to Find Happiness

As Americans, it's in our DNA to want to pursue happiness. The US Constitution promises us that we hold these truths to be self-evident: All men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I think the Constitution has impacted our culture in a way that might differ from other cultures because happiness is on our minds. We search for it, we desire it, and we want it.

With all the stuff that's going on in your life, all the things you're dealing with, all the different problems that you might be facing today, what will it take for you to be happy?

People will answer this question very differently because we all have different ideas of what happiness is. For instance, my idea of happiness is March Madness. It's the most fantastic time of the year. Better than Christmas, better than Thanksgiving. But some of you don't even know what March Madness is. You're like, "What in the world? What is this madness?" Perhaps for you, happiness means finding new friends or a new job. Maybe it's getting married, having kids, making more money, or becoming successful.

We each have our own idea of what we need to be happy. Interestingly, all these ideas of happiness are based on the external instead of the internal. There's this mindset: if our circumstances changed, we'd finally be happy.

In a section of the Gospel of Luke called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us how to truly find happiness, and it's not what anyone would ever think. That's typical of Jesus. We're going to focus on a few verses called the Beatitudes. Think of them as "beautiful attitudes." Possessing these characteristics inside our hearts will lead us to experience the happiness God wants us to have.

"20 Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. (Luke 6:20-21 ESV) 

We need to understand the word "blessed." What exactly does it mean to be blessed? The simple definition is "to be happy," but there's more to it than that. Happiness is a feeling, and Jesus isn't simply declaring a feeling. He's making a statement about the way that God thinks of us. Blessed is a favorable judgment by God on an individual that means "to be approved." So, when God blesses you, He approves of you. And of course, when God approves you, you will have a feeling of happiness.

Jesus is saying that it's not what we have; it's what we are that makes us happy. Happiness doesn't depend on external circumstances; it depends on internal attitudes. These are the internal characteristics we possess when we are approved by God and, as a result, experience happiness.  

"Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the Kingdom of God." (v20)

Jesus doesn't mean poor in the sense of not having money. The parallel passages of the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew 5:3 say, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." What does it mean to be poor in spirit? The Greek word used here for poor means "to cower and cringe like a beggar." It brings to mind a posture. An image of a person who can't sustain their own life; they can't accomplish anything without someone supporting them. Coupling that with the phrase "in spirit," He means: Blessed are those who recognize they are helpless without God. 

It's the recognition that we are spiritually bankrupt. We can't do anything morally right without God's help. We are utterly sinful and desperate for God. It's a realization that you need a Savior. The humbleness of heart that says, "I can't do it myself. I can't be a good husband without Jesus. I can't be a good leader without Jesus. I can't be a good person without Jesus. I need Jesus. I need Him to have heaven."

Jesus is telling us that we need to be humble. Humble and happy are like soulmates. If you want to be happy, you've got to be humble. The opposite of poor in spirit is arrogance and pride. Pride says, "I'm not going to change." "I'm always right." "I'm going to do whatever I want, and I don't care who I hurt." If you have pride in your heart, God does not approve you. 

Those who are desperately poor in their spiritual resources are humble enough to realize that they need help from God. When you are poor in spirit, the promise is: You get the kingdom of heaven. That's an incredible promise for us. You cannot have heaven if you are proud and think you can earn it on your own, apart from Jesus. So, what would it look like in your home, business, and school if you had a humble spirit? 

"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied." (v21)

The Gospel of Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."In other words, Blessed are those who hunger for more of God.

Mother Teresa once said, "In India, they're starving physically, but in America, they're starving emotionally." I think there's some truth to that. We all have a spiritual hunger inside of us, we just don't call it spiritual hunger. We call it restlessness, a lack of peace, or a feeling like something is missing. We must recognize that our real hunger is to know God. We are spiritual beings made by God to know Him and be loved by Him. Nothing can take the place of that relationship. There is no substitute. The sooner you realize that, the happier you'll be.

Most of the time, people feed their spirit the wrong food. We think our hunger is going to be satisfied by pleasure. So, we pursue sexual relationships and eventually realize they don't satisfy us. We believe performance will satisfy our hunger, so we seek success at work or sports. But even as you earn those things, your accomplishments don't ultimately fulfill you. We think our hunger will be satisfied by possessions, so we get the new car and the vacation home, and yet again, we're still hungry.

What are you feeding your spirit today? When you're hungry, what are you running to? A lot of us are chasing satisfaction with sex, maybe porn, maybe money, alcohol, or drugs. We pursue things that we think will satisfy, but, at the end of the day, they do not. You're never going to satisfy your spiritual hunger with pleasure or possessions. Think about it like this. You're physically hungry, so you go out to lunch and say, "I think I'm going to eat a plastic bottle for lunch today." It's just not going to work.

These things may make us feel full for a moment. It's like getting the perfect meal at your favorite restaurant. At the end of that meal, I will be happy and full, and it will last for about four hours. After that, my body will forget that steak and dessert, and I will long for a snack. A meal will make me full for a while, but my body will need more food soon.

In the same way, pleasure, success, and achievement might make you full for a moment, but the satisfying feeling won't last long. The only thing that will satisfy us is God. That's why Jesus said, "I'm the bread of life and whoever comes to Me will never go hungry and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty."

We need to run to Jesus. He is the one that your soul is craving. Everything that you are looking for in your life points to Him. In John 4, He says, "Whoever drinks water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again." Jesus is saying that He is essential for your survival. When you come to Jesus, you'll be spiritually fed. Your spirit will not only be full but also satisfied.