Blog writing, much of the time, feels like an avenue for confession and that can be hard and humbling.  That is this post for me, hard and humbling, but I’m hoping I’m not alone in these thoughts and possibly my journey may help a struggling sister or brother.  I’m writing on the illusiveness of happiness because often I struggle to maintain it!  In the past, on several occasions, Chad has asked, “what makes you happy?”  I want to give the Bible loving answer but I find myself saying “order” . . . “order” makes me happy.  Sigh . . . maybe because much of life is chaotic, out of my control and often doesn’t go as planned.  I will sometimes say in the serious moments of life that if you’re having a bad day, go clean a bathroom!  Back to that order thing again; that’s my go to, my comfort, and my control.   I believe there is something more to happiness than what I’m doing.   I know my JOY comes from the Lord – and that abiding in Him gives me the fullness of JOY despite my circumstances but my humanness longs for more!  Gasp!  I know, I said it – my heart wants more!!   But why would I dare want more?

Why would I dare want more . . . because we are designed for more, but more of what?  I will start here because many times my unhappiness is due to an over fixation on God’s gifts instead of the Giver Himself.    Other times my unhappiness stems from the knowledge that this earth is not my home and I feel done with it!  But let me be frank, more often than not, it’s simply sin.  John Piper, the author of  “When I Don’t Desire God” poignantly states it this way, 

“Preferring anything above Christ is the very essence of sin.  It must be fought.”

I’m in a daily battle over my preferences.  Anyone else?  When my preferences are wrong my happiness is at stake.  So happiness must be fought for in a battle, a battle over sin in the form of desiring order, control, focus and purpose. 

We must ask ourselves what do we prefer more than Christ?

Self? Husband? Wife? Family? Career? Well-behaved Children? Beautiful Home?  Associations? Material Possessions? Comfort? Social Media?  What is it that keeps our attention more than Christ?  Whatever it is . . . it is sin and the very robber of happiness.   So, lets square that one truth away and purpose to desire God over all things.  Psalm 37:4 demands that we “Take delight in the Lord.” It is a command and a promise.  I want to focus on our part - to take God’s command for delighting in Him with seriousness, asking for His guidance and confessing our weaknesses daily when we prefer anything above Him.

I recently picked up a book written by David Dunn entitled “Try Giving Yourself Away” and the title had me intrigued!  I thought, what does that mean “try giving yourself away” – I thought I was giving myself away but I’ve discovered I can do better.   A couple of areas of intention are challenging my self-absorption and they may challenge you as well.

Are you a “noticer”?

David Dunn encourages the habit of appreciation by being a noticer.  Being a noticer of others immediately takes your focus off of yourself – because you are busy building the habit of praise through noticing the little things others are doing or have done.  Once you begin to notice other’s actions – speak to them words of affirmation.  God shows us this in Proverbs 15:23 

An appropriate answer brings joy to a person,

and a well-timed word is a good thing.

Obey your warm-hearted impulses

Creating the habit of giving on the impulse is hard for us because we are too busy and we literally leave little to no white space on our calendars for the Holy Spirit to prompt us to acts of kindness.  We’ve even resorted to blessing people in the drive thru by paying for the people’s food behind us in line.  I’m not knocking this act of kindness – I’m just saying we’re in the drive thru!! We’re actually in the drive thru of life with little time to act on impulse.  When I’m spending time in God’s Word and He prompts me to make zucchini bread for my neighbor – I must obey this warm-hearted impulse or the opportunity to bless will be lost.  Dunn states it this way . . . “You have to train yourself to obey given impulses on the instant – before they get a chance to cool.”

For when my impulses to obey the Holy Spirit cools my happiness is at stake.

The more I give myself away in obedience to the Holy Spirit the more God fills my life with JOY.  That is where the promise comes in play from the later part of Psalm 37:4

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Preferring God to all the distractions of life will prompt my sensitivities to His calling of obedience in my every day moments.  Obeying those impulses will lead me to finding fulfillment in right desires of my heart.    

If there was ever a topic that causes agitation and hostility in this world, it is the proclamation that Jesus Christ is the preeminent path to God.  The opposition would declare that belief in a God who is restrictive to one and only one Savior is narrow-minded and bigoted.  Because biblical Christianity is at stake, it is necessary for the Christian to respond.

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”  John 14:6 (ESV).  Jesus makes the astonishing claim of the radical connection with God Himself.  Unfortunately, the Christian faith is unfairly targeted for exclusivism although many other religions do exactly the same thing, e.g., Buddhism and Islam. 

Who is this God of the Bible?  He is the God who created the heavens and the earth.  For His final masterpiece, He created man in His own likeness.  Despite man’s rebellion, God didn’t turn His back on them.  He sent His only begotten Son and transferred sins to Him.  He allowed Him to die for us.  He forgives us and eternal life is ours.  No more pain.  No more tears.  The only requirement is to honor the One who died in our place. 

While Christians are not superior to believers of other faiths, world teachers of other faiths cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Jesus.  Who else provided atonement for our sins?  Confucius, Buddha, Moses, or Muhammad didn’t—they’re dead, and they stayed dead.  Furthermore, only Christ is sinless.  Only Christ is alive and has the plan of redemption for all eternity.  Jesus is absolutely unique among all human beings who ever lived.  If all this is true, can you stand before God and tell Him that Jesus is not enough?

Nevertheless, the naysayers will point to other religions as fundamentally equivalent to Christianity and only superficially different.  However, it’s the other way around.  They are fundamentally different from Christianity, but at best superficially similar.  Most religions are concerned with what man does to bring salvation upon himself:  how many laws must be obeyed; how much money must one give; how many prayers are required; or what must be done to gain reward.  The Christian concept concerns what God did to bring us salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Way.  Jesus does not say “this is the way to heaven” as so many religious leaders have done, but rather I am the Way.  Christ’s way was unique—He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption Hebrews 9:12 (ESV).  Therefore, the requirement to attain heaven is not based on philosophy but on the person Jesus Christ.  Jesus makes clear that He is not simply the pioneer, but the way itself. 

The Truth.  Jesus adds that He is the truth.  Jesus is not saying that He discovered the truth, but rather He is the embodiment of the truth.  Scripture maintains the opposition endorses the antichrist, “and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist” 1 John 4:3 (ESV).  To cavalierly say “who cares about truth?” is playing with matches.  If the Bible is true, then everyone’s eternal destiny in heaven and hell can be read from its pages. 

The Life.  In contrast with other religious teachers that tell us how to live, Jesus gives us the power to live the life that leads to heaven.  He does not only give life.  He is the source of all life.  ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus  Romans 6:11 (ESV).

For writers of the New Testament, Jesus’ resurrection was the focal point of their teachings.  The apostle Paul was adamant when he wrote, ^“and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” 1 Corinthians 15:14 (ESV).  Such a historical test of truth leaves no room for ambiguity.  If Jesus was not raised, then at best Christianity would be counted as one among many religions.  Conversely, if Jesus was raised, then He truly is The Way. 

Christians should be delighted that Jesus’ resurrection is a verifiable claim, not a myth handed down through the ages. Innovative research conceded by essentially all critical scholarship conveys credible historical evidence: Paul’s writings, oral tradition, and the early works of non-biblical authors plus the virtually undisputed facts of Jesus’ crucifixion, appearances of Jesus after Resurrection, radical conversions of Paul and James, and Jesus’ empty tomb (Gary Habermas and Michael Licona:  The Case for the Resurrection of Christ, chapters 3 and 4).  Christians can confidently cite credible historical proof for the explanation JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

Christian hope is built on promises.  God made good on the promise to send a Savior who would deliver mankind from the bondage of sin.  And, He will make good on His promise to return to vindicate God’s people.  While we do not know the hour, let us live as if the hour is near.   For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man  Matthew 24:27 (ESV).  It behooves all who maintain that Christianity is narrow-minded and bigoted to examine Christ’s Way.