6 Ways to Find Happiness in Life

Everyone surely wants happiness.

Whoever they are, they deserve to experience happiness in their life. Today, if we search the internet for ways to find happiness in life, there are so many results. Even in bookstores there are many writers who discuss happiness in life from various points of view. And world-famous motivators, even in Indonesia itself, create seminar classes about finding a happy life.

If today the world offers a million ways to find happiness, how wonderful that in God's Word there is also that way. Here are some simple things you can try so that you can have a joyful perspective on what it really means in God.

 

1. Accept Yourself  (Accepting yourself)

Learn to accept yourself and even love yourself with all the strengths, weaknesses, shortcomings, and advantages within you. Valuing yourself is not measured by whether everything you do always succeeds. Or by your great wealth, or your high education. Or by your highest social status, or your perfect family background. Stop having standards for judging yourself like this. Because it will make you look weak and you will not be happy living your life.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand. He wants us to live in them”.

• This is very relevant to God's Word which declares that we are God's workmanship “made by God.” This should become new strength within us, because we have a guaranteed label and a high standard. God's creation is perfect, nothing is fake or even an imitation, if today you feel insecure about yourself, it means you do not appreciate who created your life. Believe that God created you to do good works “do the Best” , do everything well because you are in God and you are perfect in God's eyes.

Genesis 1:27 “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”.

• From the beginning of creation, humanity was the most special thing the LORD created; of all God's creation, only human beings are in the image of God. There is no need to be ashamed or afraid because you have a physical appearance that is imperfect in human eyes, because we are perfect in God's eyes. Never insult and mock other people; when we do that, it means we are insulting their Creator, namely God.

2. Forgive (Forgiving)

In this life, there are times when the hardest moments come when conflict happens with other people, even with those closest to us. When conflict happens, many people choose their own way to forget it without any resolution. This actually will not make your life happy and peaceful. Forgiving others is like giving a gift to ourselves, not to someone else. Because by forgiving, we win over all the discomfort in our hearts.

“When someone hurts your heart, write it on the sand so that the wind of forgiveness and its breath erase all the writing of sorrow in your heart. But when someone does extraordinary kindness, carve it on the stone of your heart, so that it will never disappear even when blown by the wind”

Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came and said to Jesus: “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother if he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him: “No! I tell you: not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

• The focus is not on the number but on the fact that forgiving others has no limit and becomes a “lifestyle” for us as Christians. As long as we are still living in this world, every day there will be things that are annoying and even do not meet our expectations of others, but God wants us to be humble enough to forgive others.

Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything in your heart against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses.”

• Forgiving is our responsibility as Christians, because our Father in heaven has first forgiven us. Forgiveness requires sincerity from the heart, not just saying the word “sorry”, because God knows which heart truly forgives and which does not. People never know what is in the heart, but God knows everything.

3. Stop Worry (Stop Worrying)

Many people live only in anxiety and worry about what has not yet happened. We often fear and do not know what we are afraid of. In the end, people like this will not be able to enjoy their lives and will forget the meaning of happiness. No life story always goes smoothly. Sometimes the storms of life, such as struggles and challenges, make us afraid and worried and even our faith begins to weaken, our spirit decreases, and we begin to lose hope.

Often worry makes us lose many precious things, and even worse, often those worries do not prove to be as bad as what we worried about, and sometimes not at all.

Psalm 55:23 "Cast your worries on the LORD, and He will sustain you! He will never let the righteous be shaken forever." 

• Worried about work that is always stressful, a life partner who never comes, having no place to live, having no money, illness, and many more worries that always come to our minds every day. God says surrender “hand it over” the word surrender means we give everything to God, let God be the One who takes care of it. 

Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or gather food into barns, yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Are you not worth far more than the birds?”

• Try taking a moment to look outside. There are so many birds in the sky flying here and there, and look at the flowers growing by the roadside that you pass every morning, still alive and growing without anyone taking care of them, how can that be? God gives the growth and God will also take care of them. Imagine that you are worth more than those birds and flowers, so special in God's eyes. So, do you really need to worry? God has given you life; believe that you are also cared for by your Father in heaven.

4. Giving (Giving)

Giving is not only for when we first receive something and then repay it. Giving helps us always feel that we have enough, and appreciate God's grace together with those who are worthy to receive it. It is not always true that when we give we immediately feel lacking; rather, seeing other people happy because of what we give greatly affects our own happiness as well.

Your hand does not always have to be underneath; train yourself to have your hand above. Giving is a special right that God has given to us. The impact of happiness in life is so extraordinary when we give from what we have, not from what is extra. Giving is not only about material things, but also giving our energy, thoughts, and even our time. Train yourself also to be able to give the best for God and the people around you.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one should give according to the willingness of his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”.

• Giving with a willing heart is what God wants, not giving because of compulsion or any other motive. A person's heart is known only by that person and by God. God truly loves His children who give with joy.

Matthew 6:3-4 “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Let your giving be done in secret, then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”.

• Giving does not have to be known by everyone else; it is enough that you and God know what you give to others. So many people give in order to be seen by others as great; that is not the right principle of giving . Because when we give and only God knows, believe that God will take account of whatever we give to others without anyone else having to know. This verse also teaches us that when we give, we also receive from everything we give; what we receive is a spiritual blessing.

5. Love (Love)

To love is the essence of who we are and why we relate to others. Love is the source of life and leads us to do positive things. Not everyone can love in the right way; there is always a motive in each person for beginning to love, whether that motive is right or wrong. All the more, loving someone who has never done good to us is very difficult for us.

Loving rightly happens when we also know how to love ourselves rightly, because many people forget that it is necessary to love yourself first before reaching out to others. love while there is still time and opportunity; love God, others, and yourself.

Matthew 22:34-40 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

• To love with all your heart, soul, and mind means that in every aspect of this life, the One we love first and foremost is God. Because when we know how to love God whom we do not see, it has a great impact on how we love our neighbors who are clearly with us.

Luke 6:27 “But to you who are listening, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”.

• Wow, this verse is very hard to put into practice when there is still hatred, but one thing to remember is that God cares deeply about this. Believe it, God never created human beings to be evil, so keep doing good and love everyone without exception.

6. Be Grateful (Being Grateful)

Being grateful is one of the keys to happiness. Even in difficult circumstances, let us still be grateful, because everything has its season. Being gratefulhttp://3 Reasons Being Grateful for These Small Things Can Change Your Life. Come Read! for what is in your life will train positive signals in your life. Do not look at people above us when you want to give thanks; try looking below, there are so many people who have far less than what we actually have.

Do a simple thing every night before you sleep: take a sheet of white paper and a pen, write down whatever you did throughout the day and every way God was with you. You will be able to see that every day there are actually so many things you need to be grateful for. One of the things you should be grateful for is every opportunity you were able to work on that day.

1 Thessalonians 5:18  "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

• In all circumstances means that in joy and sorrow we must still be grateful. Not only when you are healthy should you be grateful; when you are sick you also need to be grateful because God is teaching you to depend more on Him through your physical weakness. Not only when you get the best job, but when you are unemployed you also need to be grateful, because God wants to train you to wait for a time and a job far better from the LORD, and not only when you already have a life partner only then be grateful while waiting for your soulmate you also need to be grateful because God is choosing and designing the partner that will be best for you in the future. If good circumstances can give a positive signal for being grateful, try to see that bad circumstances can also teach you to be grateful.

-

Related Articles:

• Stay Happy Even When Busy? How?
• Do These 7 Signs of a Happy Family Already Exist in Your Family?
• 5 Reasons Why You Should Forgive as Soon as Possible
• Why, What, and How to Be Grateful?
• Worry: The Parasite That Eats Away at Faith

-