Happiness

Money Can’t Buy Happiness

Caring for Others, Giving, Happiness, Idolatry, Money, Wealth, Wisdom

Almost everyone is familiar with the tragic story of Seattle grunge rocker Kurt Cobain, the eclectic frontman of the early ’90s three-piece Nirvana, a…

Winning The Lottery

Happiness, Mistakes, Money, True Joy, Winning

Winning the lottery often produces disastrous results for people. They mistakenly think that money will make them incredibly happy. Unfortunately, there are many stories…

Character, Comfort, Happiness, Joy

The animated movie Trolls describes the overly happy creatures called trolls and the overly negative creatures called Bergens (directed by Mike Mitchell and Walt…

Ten Things I Love about You

Contentment, Friendship, Happiness, Joy, Perspective

Sometimes it can be hard to focus on what is true in a world of lies, or to find what is just when there…

Living in the Present

Contentment, Happiness, Joy, Life, Perspective, Time

The film About Time starts as a science-fiction story about a time traveler. In the end, the main character has learned how to live…

Empty Promises

Fulfillment, Happiness, Life, Meaning, Pleasure, Pursuit

Did you ever get what you always wanted just to be let down? Ecclesiastes wants to stress the limitations that pursuing good pleasures will…

“Can’t Get No Satisfaction”

Happiness, Life, Meaning, Purpose, Satisfaction

The 1965 Rolling Stones song “Satisfaction” relates to Qoheleth’s experience when it says, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” In chapter 2, the Preacher tries…

Not What You Expected

Ecclesiastes, Expectations, Fulfillment, Happiness

Did you ever get what you always wanted just to be let down? Ecclesiastes wants to stress the limitations that pursuing good pleasures will…

Hardwired

Creation, Design, Following God, Generosity, Giving, Happiness, Joy, Purpose

It is amazing how God has hardwired our brains and bodies to even function in ways that reward us following him. While it is…

Anchored Joy

1 Peter 4:13, 2 Corinthians 12:10-11, Anchor, Devotion, Feelings, Fickle, Finite, Happiness, Hebrews 16:19, Isaiah 12:3, Job 5:17, Joy, Love, Stability, Truth

In a piece for The Gospel Coalition, Ryan Hoselton compares the artist Pharrell and Augustine’s views on happiness. “The truth is that viewing happiness…

God’s Promises

1 John 1:9, Exodus 14:14, Fulfillment, Gifts, God's Promises, Growth, Happiness, Isaiah 40:29, Isaiah 41:13, James 1:5, Needs, Security, Trusting God, Truth, Wants

“God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”…

Choosing Happiness

1 Peter 5:6, Christ's Character, Discipline, Ephesians 4:2, Generosity, Gratitude, Happiness, Humility, Identity, Love, Philippians 2:3, Proverbs 11:2, Romans 12:16, Selflessness, Trust

Gretchen Rubin is known for her book, The Happiness Project. In it, she writes, “The belief that unhappiness is selfless and happiness is selfish…

We Have Jesus

1 John 5:4, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Contentment, Ephesians 3:16-17, Faith, Happiness, Joy, Loss, Pain, Presence, Romans 15:13, Romans 5:3-5, Suffering, Trials, Trusting God

“You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”- Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering When…

Not the Answer

Contentment, Fame, Fleeting Glory, God's Glory, Good Gifts, Happiness, Hebrews 13:5, Hope, Idolatry, Kingship, Luke 12:15, Matthew 6:25-26, Philippians 4:11-13, Psalm 3:2-6, Thirst

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”…

Divine Happiness

Creation, Disbelief, Divinity, Ephesians 2:4-5, Faith, Glory, God the Father, God's Delight, God's Love, Happiness, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 139:13-14, Relationship, Romans 8:28

“To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist…