In Search of Happiness

This week we will celebrate Happy Valentine’s Day. While we take it all in, the question that will be asked most is, “Where can I find happiness and satisfaction?” Someone or something will be missing. Many may have the experience of the lady in the following story. “A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamt that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's Day. What do you think it means?" "You shall know tonight", he said. That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it. Inside she found a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams". Don’t you know her day ceased to be a “Happy” one at that moment? You see it takes more than a necklace, a romantic card, a nice dinner, a dozen red roses, or a box of chocolates to attain happiness.  It takes more than wealth and fame. So many people are in pursuit of happiness but are failing to find it.  I think it is good to study the life and writings of Solomon, a man in biblical history that sought for the same but came up empty handed. And it’s important to note that he was not just any man. He was not a novice. He was the wisest and the richest of his day. When reading about his life you find he sought for happiness in knowledge, pleasure, and achievement.  He found he could not learn enough, drink enough, romance enough, earn enough, or create enough to make him happy. The same applies to us. A new town, a new car, a new house, or a new job will not give happiness; the reason being, it comes from the inside.  It has to do with an emotional and spiritual adjustment not a material, positional, or financial one. So, where does happiness come from? Solomon found that it came by his relationship with God, a truth his own father referenced in Psalm 144:15 when he wrote, “Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!”  If your search has left you empty and the answer remains an elusive secret, why not try God. He can touch your heart making this occasion a real Happy Valentine’s Day!