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There are joy killers in life and I want to talk about the keys to cultivating greater joy. Who doesn’t want more joy? And here is what is true: You were created to experience joy. So why can it feel so fleeting at times? The first joy killer is putting your joy in the wrong things.
Several years ago I read a book, Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. One of the themes of the book is the idea that as human beings, we think we are in search of pleasure in life but what we really seek, what our hearts truly long for is purpose. We want our lives to have meaning but we can get sidetracked in the pursuit of pleasure. While life does bring pleasure and God designed us to experience it, when we chase it or base our ultimate joy and satisfaction on it, we will be depressed and sorely disappointed.
The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes has the well-known verse, “meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes describes King Solomon’s account of the suffering, misery, and emptiness that came from seeking after foolishness, meaninglessness, and materialistic pursuit; and that ultimate hope and meaning is in discovering truth and seeking after God. Solomon tried the world’s brand of happiness and found it to be lacking as we hear his words in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2. “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless. ‘Laughter,’ I said, ‘is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?’”
As a King, he had all of life’s pleasures at his fingertips. Although he could have anything his heart desired, nothing he found satisfied him for the long term. Even the work of his hands, although a good and meaningful aspect of human existence, led to frustration, failure, grief, and pain. While there is an overall depressing tone to the book, Solomon’s conclusion points us to look beyond this life for our ultimate hope and that no amount of wealth, power, prestige, success, relationships or even wisdom will fully satisfy the longing of the human heart. Only Jesus can provide what nothing on this earth can deliver.
Life remains toilsome and frustrating at times, but Jesus gives meaning, purpose, and mission to those who believe and trust in him for their salvation. We do not have to follow the path of the world and seek fulfillment in things that will ultimately leave us craving for more. The joy of the world is hollow, but the joy of the Lord which comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit, is rich and abundant. The world’s happiness will fade but the key to cultivating true joy is to be deeply rooted in a relationship with our Savior and find our meaning in him.