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Here’s my bet: You do these things because you want to be happy. You work, you earn, you relate, and strive, and set goals because, when all is said and done, you want happiness. And so do I! The map we follow to get there may look different: some of us might plot out a course of professional achievements and financial success, while others seek meaningful relationships or exciting experiences. But the destination we’ve circled in red ink is the same. We want to be happy.

So, are we? Are YOU? My guess is you’ve run into a few dead ends. Things intended to bring you happiness, haven’t. Experiences you thought would satisfy you didn’t. Am I right?

I had only been a Christian for a few years when I realized my own map to happiness had been leading me in circles. I was listening to a speaker at a conference when he shared an illustration that God used to shape my thinking for the next 25 years.

We’re all chasing rainbows, he said, and our rainbows all have little golden buckets at the end of them. For some of us those buckets are labelled “success.” For some of us “popularity” or “physical perfection.” Some simply read “security” or “family” or even “fame.”  But those buckets are empty.

This word picture fascinated me because at the ripe old age of thirteen, I had decided that sports, academics and dating the right girl would determine my success in life.

Then I woke up one day as a senior in high school about to graduate, and realized that I had achieved my goals. I had good grades, a pretty girl and athletic awards. And yet, I felt absolutely empty. It was as though I had chased my rainbow to the very end, only to discover that the bucket at the bottom had nothing in it. I realized that my entire perception of happiness had been warped.

So where does that leave us? Does that mean we can never be truly happy? Absolutely not! In fact, God does no less than promise happiness, if we are willing to follow His map instead of our own.

That map is found in a very unusual place; you might not recognize it as a guide to true happiness at first reading. In fact, it’s a portion of the Bible written to a group of people who were undergoing intense persecution and suffering. Yet, in this third chapter of 1 Peter, God provides us with the secret to lasting happiness. In this brief passage, we are urged to rediscover the lost art of happiness.

(v.8)

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers,

be compassionate and humble.

(v.9)

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with a blessing, because to this you were called [so] that you may inherit a blessing.

(v.10)

whoever would love life and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and

his lips from deceitful speech.

(v.11)

He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and  pursue it.

(v.12)

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Did you see the promise? YOU WILL INHERIT A BLESSING! This promise is all the more amazing because of the people to whom it was originally written. Peter’s readers were being martyred, jobs were being lost, possessions were gone and many Christians were in flight. They were hiding in catacombs, in attics and caves. They were running for cover. Paul and Peter would both be executed within the next few years. And yet we find this amazing promise: Blessing. Happiness. How can this be?

Essentially, Peter outlines seven commands or conditions to happiness. Each command is a key for us to experience rich, powerful, authentic happiness, regardless of our circumstances. They all boil down to this timeless principle: In order to find real happiness, you must give it away. You will receive blessing, joy, fulfilment, meaning and significance when you are the instrument that God uses to bring joy, fulfilment and meaning to the lives of others.

Seven Keys to Happiness:

KEY 1: Get Your Focus Off Yourself – Live in Harmony. Be Humble.

The first step to becoming a blesser is to get our focus off ourselves and onto others. Stop thinking about your issues, your problems and your life. Now that’s easier said than done, so let me suggest that you take a moment right now and list three names of people that you think might be in greater need of encouragement than you.

KEY 2: Get Your Focus Onto Others – Be Sympathetic. Be Compassionate.

First, we change our thinking and then we are commanded to become compassionate, sympathetic and tender-hearted. This is rare in our fast-paced world, even amongst Christians: but it will transform how we interact with one another. Essentially, God has made us with a desire and longing to share with one another. It’s a part of how He produces joy in our hearts.

KEY 3: Do One Good Deed Each Day – Love as Brothers.
Many times when I’m in difficult circumstances, instead of being other-centred, I tend to get focussed on me – my world, my fears, my calendar, my pain and my problems. It’s natural to do so… but this introspection suffocates the happiness in my heart. The fact is, I’ve learned that turning my focus on others can actually improve my circumstances.

KEY 4: Refuse to Abuse Your Abusers – Do Not Repay Evil with Evil.
This concept is counter to all human nature. When people treat you badly, respond by blessing them and even going the “second mile.” God promises that good is more powerful than evil, and that when we “give back” good for evil, others will be overwhelmed and repent. The way to overcome those who give you a hard time is to give them what they don’t deserve.

Of course, if someone is completely tearing up your life or treating you completely unjustly, you should go through normal channels and establish reasonable boundaries. But this verse means that you don’t seek personal retaliation. You don’t get bitter or angry, or try to get back at them. When people give you a hard time and you get mad and upset and bitter and resentful, who gets the ulcers? You, or them? Who can’t sleep at night? You, or them?

KEY 5: Get Your Mouth Under Control – Keep Your Tongue from Evil and Your Lips from Deceitful Speech.
I don’t think it’s an accident that Peter started with our speech. What does someone’s speech tell you about them? According to Jesus in Luke 6: 45, what comes out of our mouths reveals what’s in our hearts. According to James, if you ever get control of your tongue, you will have control of your whole body. Without purity of heart, even if you are a believer, there can’t be any peace. If you are vengeful, resentful and speaking evil of people, you won’t be happy.

Is your mouth under control? Are there times you need to keep silent, or someone from whom you need to seek forgiveness?

KEY 6: Stop Doing Bad Things – Turn from Evil and Do Good.
In the original language, this is a command which literally means, stop doing evil and start doing good! Repentance is a prerequisite for happiness. Your heart needs to be pure before God. If there are impure actions in our lives, if we are doing something that we know is wrong, happiness will not come until we deal with it. Then we need to start doing good.

Is there a habit, a relationship, a financial issue, or an attitude in your life that God has shown you to be wrong? Don’t delay! Right now, repent. Come to God and confess your sin (! John 1:9). Now make a clean break with the past and do what you know is right!

KEY 7: Mend Broken Fences – Seek Peace and Pursue It.
Seek peace and zealously pursue it, any time there is a gap between you and another person. You may not be able to solve it, but as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all men. This is a difficult process and one that sends emotional tremors through our system. But happiness can never be full and complete until we know we’ve done all we can to mend broken fences in our relational network. Pride, demanding that they make the “first move” and assigning blame are the barriers we’ll have to overcome.

You need to know that you’ve done everything possible to restore broken or hurting relationships with others. They may still thumb their nose at you, but once you have asked God’s forgiveness for your part in it, and asked the other person for their forgiveness, you have done your part. You have taken every possible step to restore the relationship. Is it hard? Yes! Necessary? Absolutely! Rewarding? Beyond words!

Conclusion:

You see, the happiness God gives is strong, rich, solid and lasting. It is not about “mind games,” or simplistic emotional “self help” techniques. These 7 keys work for everyone, in every age, because they reveal God’s divine plan for life and relationships.

So, what keeps you from being truly happy?

·        Are you feeling discouraged, like your life isn’t as good as it should be?

·        Then get your focus off yourself!

·        Are you feeling depressed or “out of sorts?”

·        Then get your focus onto others!

·        Are you feeling bored, need some “zest” and joy in your “today?”

·        Then do a good deed today!

·        Are others making your life miserable?

·        Then refuse to abuse your abusers. Give good in exchange for evil.

·        Are you tired of damaging relationships and hurting others with your words?

·        Then get your mouth under control, and pursue purity!

·        Does bondage to a particular sin or habit keep you from being happy?

·        Then stop doing bad things! Repent!

·        Does conflict with others have your emotions in turmoil?

·        Then mend broken fences. Ask for forgiveness, and do whatever you can to pursue reconciliation.

If you really want to be happy, give happiness away. If you want to inherit a blessing, be a blesser! Practice purity with God and purity with people. You will receive joy, fulfilment, meaning and significance like you’ve never imagined possible. Let God use you in the lives of others! Put others first! You’ll find you haven’t lost anything but your own discouragement and pride.

Return to the End of the Rainbow

As we close our thoughts concerning God’s promise for happiness, I’m reminded of the final two points of the speaker’s message about the rainbow and the empty buckets. He said that there are two buckets that will always be full if you invest in them. One is people. If we invest our lives in people, love people, help kids, help employees, help neighbours, we build people up. When we love people, it’s like putting money in the bank; the interest grows and grows and grows.

The other bucket at the end of the rainbow is the Word of God. Every moment you spend meditating on the Word of God, it begins to change how you think and feel. It makes you a blesser. You always get a good return when you invest in these two buckets at the end of the rainbow.

Are you happy? Are you looking for happiness? Become a blesser. You will find a richer pot of gold, a deeper, longer lasting reward. This is God’s promise to you.

This message is from Chip Ingram