The Pursuit of...

Out of our faith walk with the Lord can emerge a sense of His joy and peace.  As we worship Him,
we can know that inner satisfaction and have a heart of thankfulness. Psalm 37 states:
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

People are seeking to be happy; and sometimes that sense of happiness will be rooted in external circumstances.  Our happiness as believers is determined by the level that we abide in Christ - and we can experience inner satisfaction, expressed through joy and peace, flowing from the knowledge that we are right with Him and that He is sustaining us, no matter what the externals might tell us.  Our joy is not of this world but comes from His presence in our hearts.

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Even in the midst of enduring hardship, we can have an abiding joy in the Lord; the knowledge of
Him brings satisfaction - some might even call it happiness. James 5 states:
11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest you fall into judgment.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

Going to church can contribute to a person's happiness; that sounds like a simple, commonsense statement of cause and effect, doesn't it?  A recently released Pew poll explored the connection between church attendance and well-being, and Baptist Press reported on the results.

The article states:

"This analysis finds that in the U.S. and many other countries around the world, regular participation in a religious community clearly is linked with higher levels of happiness and civic engagement," Pew said, citing civic activities such as voting, joining community groups and volunteering.

The story points out that, "Pew describes actively religious people as those who identify with a religious group and attend church services at least monthly."

The survey found that, "In the U.S., 36 percent of actively religious people said they were very happy, compared to 25 percent of inactive religious people and 25 percent of those unaffiliated with any religious group."  According to the story, the poll seems to indicate that religious affiliation is not enough to bring about greater happiness and civic participation; it's religious activity that makes a difference.

Some other snapshots: only about a third of these religiously active Americans say they are in "very good health." 96% of the group indicated that they "avoid frequent drinking," and "85 percent don't smoke, 64 percent exercise several times a week, and 72 percent are not obese."

With respect to community involvement, just over two-thirds of religiously active Americans vote in national elections versus 48% of the religiously unaffiliated.  Also, 58% belong to at least one non-religious group, vs. 39% of religious unaffiliated people.

How does the U.S. compare to other countries? According to the report, "Surveys found the highest rates of very happy people among religiously active people in Mexico, 71 percent; Colombia, 58 percent; and Ecuador, 56 percent."  The Pew survey included the U.S. and 25 other countries.

All right, let's consider this: What constitutes true happiness?  Some think that the externals, such as pastor and former corporate executive Stu Fuhlendorf was relating, contribute to our happiness.  Others look to be happy through sinful behavior.  Truth is, God wants us to experience His joy, which is a deep-seated satisfaction in Him; happiness, which is thought to be more externals-based, can be a fickle concept.  Others say God doesn't want us to be happy, rather to be holy -  I would submit that if we are right with God, internally, we can walk in His joy, which is listed among the fruit of the spirit.

We can pursue what God has in store for us and we can be satisfied as we allow Him to work in our lives.  If we are pursuing God, we can certainly have that deep knowledge in our souls that we are pleasing Him; that can make for a happy, or a joyful life.  All in all, our joy in the Lord is determined by inward factors, rather than external circumstances.