Dwight Fletcher | The secret to joy

COULD IT be that the reason that there’s so much unhappiness in our culture and so many people are discouraged and depressed is because in our society there is a total preoccupation with self? What’s best for me, what will make me happy, and what I want is the order of the day. We are living in the ‘ME’ generation.

“… People today are caught up in the middle of almost complete self-centredness. They are so focused on getting what they want that it leads to unhappiness and un-fulfilment. The more we have the more we want, and the more unhappy we become!” – Marty Seligman, professor of psychology, University of Pennsylvania.

CONCENTRATE ON GOD

The Bible gives us a completely different approach to life. It tells us to, “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.” Matthew 6:33 (NCV). The real secret of joy is to put Jesus first, others second, and ourselves (me) third. It seems like an oxymoron that to be joyful we need to concentrate on God and others more than ourselves.

When we learn to have a greater purpose in our lives outside of just living for self, we will have more joy than we can handle. There’s no such thing as problem-free living but when we base our lives on the kinds of values that are going to last throughout eternity, then many problems just aren’t as significant. God has a purpose that is bigger than our personal problems.

God wants us to enjoy our lives but it starts with the foundational values we adopt. We need to live with God’s perspective. He has a purpose behind every problem, so when we encounter them we need to pray, “Lord, help me to see this problem from Your viewpoint. And what You want me to learn in this situation. What do You want to teach me?” We need to have the right priorities and learn to distinguish what is important and what should come first.

Many people have mixed-up priorities. They don’t know whether they’re coming or going. They seem to be just going from one problem to the next. Proverbs 3:6 (TLB) tells us that, “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”

Focus on what is important and then fuel up on God’s power to handle it. Have you been trying to live solely on your own power to solve your problems and pressures in your life? God’s message is to relax, and stop carrying a burden that was never intended for us to carry. God is calling us to come and give it all to Him, load it all on Him and ask Him for a physical, spiritual, and emotional recharge. When we do this then we will be able to say, like Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

To live in joy we must first find our purpose in Christ. None of us are here by accident and to take up space. When we discover that purpose and get in the centre of it, it will fit and we will begin to feel fulfilled, and realise why we’re really here. It’s not religion but about a relationship with Jesus.

Paul did not say, “For me to live is religion”, or church, or even ministry. No, he said the only thing worth living for is a relationship with the one who made us and aligning with that first will bring the joy and fulfilment we desire.