Imagine a human ball of energy bounding towards you; a tanned, tw0-year-old little girl complete with beach blonde pigtails resting high on her head, a bright t-shirt with a giraffe image that says Hi on the front, and a stuffed Barney the Dinosaur tightly tucked under her arm. When she enthusiastically reaches her destination—which is as close to you as possible— she fixes her carribean blue eyes on you and says. . .

 

I happy.

 

Followed by a spirited whisking away, only to return and say it at least 50 more times before her head hits the pillow that night.

 

This was life with my baby girl, Lauren.

 

I remember once, on the way to a beach trip with the youth group my husband pastored, Lauren cornered one of the “youths” and set herself on repeat for an hour and a half.

 

Lacey?

Yes, Lauren?

I happy.

 

Although exhausting at times, Jason and I never squelched her innocent revelling of how she perceived herself. It was stinking adorable!

 

But one day it stopped.

 

I don’t know why. I’m not even sure that we noticed at first.

 

(Although, I did get to hear it again when she fell in love with her now-husband. This time it was accompanied by happy tears.)

 

We may not have noticed when Lauren’s proclamations ceased, but—then again— most people don’t notice at first when they stop being happy.

 

Sometimes big life moments happen upon us, entering our hearts with a blow and ransacking us of all its glow. Other times, it’s a slow leaking, leaving shallows of sadness circling the drain. It’s noticed, but doesn’t appear as a huge threat until the sustaining air is all gone. Deflalation.

 

That’s the Modus Operandi (M.O.) of happiness: it’s fleeting.

 

This morning I was watching the news and they showed a clip of an interview with Kathie Lee Gifford—a woman I have come to admire for her boldness about her love for God. In this clip, she was explaining that happy was derived from the word happenstance which means chance. More specifically, it is the combination of the words happening and circumstance.

 

Happiness is tethered to circumstances. And so,  if circumstances tank, so does happiness.

 

We all know that. I am not giving you any new revelation. We experience it daily; the receiving and discarding of happiness based on what happened to our “moment”—our possession of time. It’s simple math. When circumstances create a deficit, we are no longer happy. Therefore, we keep adding. A better job. More friends. A different Spouse. More shoes. But things break, jobs suck, friends disappoint, and spouses are people.

 

Seeking happiness becomes exhausting.

 

It cannot be the endgame of existence. Single-minded pursuit of it  will create an unquenchable thirst. (Read about the Woman at the Well in John 4.) We certainly should enjoy moments and glean happiness from the things we have accumulated. It would be ungodly not to. Carpe Diem! Enjoy the moment!

 

This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

 

Psalm 118:24

 

It’s a  powerful declaration.

 

When I was in school, my mom would drive me to school everyday. Before I was allowed to get of the car (even up to high school) she would say,

 

Andria. . .?

 

I would often retort with,

I know. . .

 

This is the day. . .

she’d start.

 

. . .That the Lord has made. . .

I’d reply in lackluster tones.

 

And I. . ?

she’d continue.

 

WILL rejoice (strained emphasis and my eyes starting to roll)

 

AND. . .

 

Be glad in it (eye roll completed).

 

Although this bit of exchange was somewhat rote, it nestled  into my heart and found a home.

 

The operative word in that scripture is rejoice; the root word being joy.

 

Often joy and happiness are freely exchanged, but doing so lops off the significance that is being suggested—almost commanded.

 

Unlike happiness, which is tethered to circumstances, joy is tied to the eternal.

 

Joy peeks into eternity.

 

No matter what happens on this earth, whether our circumstances change and our health fails, we suffer loss, we’re hurt by someone we deeply love—whether (fill in the blank) and our happy is crushed—God is still on the throne. If you are a believer, you are and will be with Jesus. He loves you.

 

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.

We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 8:35 – 39

Paul, the author of those words, was closely acquainted with circumstances that would steal happiness. But not only him—read about Job, Moses, Hannah, David. . . Shoot! Just read the Bible. They are all intimately acquainted with the same things we go through (excepting having to look at them on their Facebook Memories).  

But their joy was not in the circumstances. It was in knowing their heavenly Father.

God did not promise you happiness. It is a misguided, American fairytale.

But He did promise to be with you as you

walk through the darkest valley.

Psalm 23:4

That should give you joy.