Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

“Do what makes you happy.”

These words are practically the mantra of our culture. It’s not bad advice, we all seek contentment and fulfillment; the problem is that people (all of us) are terrible at figuring out what will make us happy. The rich and powerful (those most enabled to do whatever makes them happy) are proof enough, with endless tabloid columns covering their pursuits and tragedies.

Yet we were created to live happy lives. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which literally translates to the “garden of pleasure”. Jesus said He came to give His followers life more abundantly and the Apostle Paul talked about learning “the secret of being content”.

God wants us to be happy. The problem is we chronically take the wrong paths to try to get there.

What if being happy was easier than we realized? What if all our efforts and pursuits, trying to get there, were one of the main things keeping us from finding the secret of true happiness?

Years ago, I took a couple weeks to read and re-read Psalm 77. It’s a Psalm of lament. Asaph complains that he keeps asking God for help, but God seems to be making his agony worse. Finally, Asaph asks, “Has [God’s] promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He, in anger, withheld His compassion?”

What if all our efforts and pursuits were the main things keeping us from the secret of true happiness?

Suddenly, in verse 10, something happens. It isn’t a miracle or the breakthrough Asaph was praying for, but perhaps it was even more powerful. Asaph says, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out His right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord…and meditate on your mighty deeds.” The rest of the Psalm is a poetic reflection on the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. By the end, with no explanation, Asaph seems completely at peace.

Paul was more direct, giving his prescription bluntly several verses before he told the Philippians he had learned the secret to being content in all circumstances.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! … In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts.” (Philippians 4:4–7)

He then exhorts the Church to fill their thoughts with, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy.”

This is not a cheap “Put a smile on and pretend the problems are not there.”

Fill your life with gratitude. That’s the big secret: fix your attention on praiseworthy things and practice the discipline of thanksgiving.

To be clear, this is not a cheap “Put a smile on and pretend the problems are not there.” Gratitude does not take your circumstances away, or even change them. What it does is change you. On good days, it helps you stop and enjoy God’s blessings. On average days, it never lets you forget what God has done, and it gives context to even the worst of days. At our lowest point, when we have nothing else, we can remember the man who hung on a tree and said, “Father, forgive them,”—the same man is coming again to give us Eden renewed. What a promise!

The past two years have been filled with turmoil. Societal divides have exploded, breaking up friends, dividing families, and sending shockwaves through churches. We live in troubled times and tomorrow will bring new challenges, but today we can experience true happiness, in the most counter-cultural way: by taking time to enjoy something—anything—God has done, and responding with heart-felt thanksgiving.