We’re all different, and what makes one person happy can be like a living hell to another. (I’m thinking about my friend who’s favorite thing to do is to work in her yard in the sun. The idea of spending more than 30 seconds in the sun with the dirt and the bugs and the grass to which I’m allergic, sounds like torture.) To each their own. But beneath the things we want to do and the material things we want to have, one thing we can all agree on is that we want to be happy.
Let’s take it a step further and agree that what we really want is joy. Happiness is fleeting, but real joy is sustainable. Happiness is external in that it can be stolen by the people who cut us off in traffic, but joy is internal and is much more difficult for anyone to steal. But how do we get (and keep) joy?
Great question. I’m glad you asked.
Let’s explore where joy comes from. Think about it. Bad actions can only produce bad results, like sadness, trouble, worry, confusion, etc. Bad actions can never produce good results, like joy, love, or peace. So if bad actions lead to bad results, do our good actions lead to good results?
We can do some things that make ourselves feel better, but most of those things yield only temporary results. We can read self-help books, listen to good podcasts (like the FIND YOUR PURPOSE NOW podcast), talk to a friend, or do some of the other things that are within our control, but do any of those things actually produce love, peace or joy?
We might think that we’re capable of producing love, peace and joy, but if that were true, so many of us wouldn’t be taking antidepressants or self-medicating with alcohol or drugs or porn or shopping or any of the other things so many people seem to need to get through their lives.
Of course we can make ourselves temporarily feel better, but no amount of the things we do for ourselves will bring sustainable good feelings into our lives. Even the things that aren't "bad," like meditation, yoga, exercise, video games, food, spending, or any of the other things we use to try to achieve bliss (or distraction), ever produce authentic, sustainable love, peace and joy.
So if we can't produce the results we really want in life through the things we do to make ourselves feel better, where can we get love, peace and joy?
Great question.
I'm so glad you asked!
The really good things in this life, like love, peace and joy, come from God.
Now before you blow this off as just another attempt by another person to impose their faith on you, please take a moment to consider the alternatives. Where do you think love, peace and joy originate? Do you know where to find them? Do you know how to create or access them? If you do, good for you. Do that. If you don’t know how to keep love, peace and joy in your life consistently and sustainably, then consider giving my Jesus a chance.
I was raised by atheists, so I know what it’s like to live without God. Not coincidentally, when I lived without God, I also lived without love, peace or joy. After I was introduced to Jesus, I began to get glimpses of what it felt like to be loved, to have peace and to feel the exquisite feeling of real joy. Nope, everything wasn’t instantly perfect, and even after decades, I still don’t have this Christianity thing down. But I do have Love (yes, with a capital “L” since the God of the Bible describes Himself as Love), and I have inexplicable peace and joy, and I can’t imagine ever living without those things again. To do so wouldn’t be living—it would be only existing.
I’ve written this for you--yes YOU
--in the hopes that you, too, will find your Love, peace and joy so that you feel this real, authentic success every day for the all the rest of your days.
You get 1,440 minutes every day, and when you use them to fulfill your purpose, you get a sense of contentedness, peace, and joy that cannot be attained any other way. And the best part is, your life and the lives of everyone within your influence, improve. I hope to see YOU at the next FIND YOUR PURPOSE retreat.
You’ve got one job in this life! It’s to find and fulfill the purpose for which you were born and perfectly matched. That’s REAL success! This podcast is to help you find and fulfill your purpose and to enjoy the real success that accompanies it. Subscribe now and share this with a friend. Listen at www.rhonda.org/podcast or wherever you get good podcasts.
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