“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

                  -II Corinthians 12:9, 10

Think for a moment about how many times in a day you use the word “need.” If there’s something we want but don’t have - even if it’s nothing more than a new video game - we somehow think we can’t live without it and determine not to be contented until our often selfish desires are satisfied. After all, we reason, doesn’t God want us to be happy?

“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.”

                                               -Psalm 144:15

The fact is, God does want you to be happy. As I mentioned in my last post, giving you more abundant life in Him is a stated priority of our heavenly Father and the joy of the Lord is something no Christian should be without (Galatians 5:22). Where we often make our mistake, however, is in assuming that the answer to our unhappiness could ever be found in earthly and material things and then set our heart on them in hope of fulfillment. According to Scripture, though, the abundant life described in John 10:10 can only be found when we delight ourself in the Lord and make Him the most sincere desire of our heart (Psalm 37:4), realizing the pleasures of this world last only for a season (Hebrews 11:25).

“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”

                                                 -Ecclesiastes 5:10

Despite how much you’d love to have a new car, a nicer home, and a bigger salary, those things simply do not bring lasting satisfaction and never will. If you had more money, you wouldn’t be happy unless you spent it; if you spent it, you wouldn’t be happy until you had more money again. It’s a hopeless and endless cycle that leads to nothing but dissatisfaction and, as Solomon wrote, vanity (see also 1 Timothy 6:6). God can do without us, but we certainly can’t do without Him. The joy is there for the taking; don’t fly around the world just to get across the street.