The Happiness Trap

Several weeks ago, I was going through some struggles, some with myself and some with others. I was down, but God was able to speak to me and show me a lot of things about me and about Him during that time.

But my mood gradually lifted and I was soon feeling pretty much normal. It got harder to hear God speak...harder to want to hear Him.

That's when I realized that maybe the greatest obstacle to our walk with God might be our happiness. I'm not talking about the joy found only in the love of Christ. I'm talking about the happiness that we can get from the world. Not the satisfying happiness, but the kind that can trick us into complacency.

I always knew it, more or less, but it hit me that Satan is using my happiness to turn me AWAY from God. When I'm unhappy, God is the first One I go to. But when I'm content...when things are going my way...I don't feel like I need God. I put Him next to my spare tire. I don't forget about Him--I've grown up in such a faith-saturated environment that I don't run the risk of forgetting--but I don't pursue a relationship.

Now, I am aware that some people may be pushed away from God during hard times, but that isn't something I've had to deal with so far.

But it's so mind-boggling that, when we finally get the happiness we prayed for during the storm, we turn away from the Giver of that happiness. You've probably heard the analogy, but I really like the image of a child on Christmas, gleefully opening gifts and paying no attention to the parents who loved the child enough to give the gifts.

King Solomon realized that earthly happiness is a trap:

"give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?” (Proverbs 30: 8b-9a)

 Isn't it hard to walk by faith when the sun is shining? Isn't it hard to depend on God when your pantry is full and your air conditioning is running and your Wi-Fi is connected?

I do not ask God to take away all those things. Rather, I ask Him to keep earthly happiness from distracting me from true happiness. I am just beginning to understand how long I've let the world make me content...and I'm nowhere near the point where I can truly say that God is the only source of my joy.

But I am confident that God will bring me closer every day as I seek Him and the happiness only He can give.