Who Wants A Happy Life?

Everyone wants to be happy. Whatever happiness is for you - you want that for your life...and you spend you entire life trying to get it. Two things to point out: 1) Your life is much longer than your years here on earth, and 2) God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not happiness, but character development. Once you grasp these two things, life becomes simpler.

God made you for a purpose - for something here on this earth and for something beyond this earth. Life on this earth is just a prelude....a dress rehearsal for the real show. God needs us to grow up spiritually and become like Christ because that's what we're gonna need after this life on earth is done. Becoming like Christ doesn't mean losing who you are and becoming a mindless clone carrying around a bible. Christ-likeness means transforming and building your character (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), not changing your personality.
 
Anytime you forget that building character and becoming more like Christ is one of God’s purposes for your life, you'll get frustrated by your circumstances. You’ll wonder, "Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? I didn't expect it to go like this". One answer is that life can be difficult - that's part of what helps us grow. Therefore, being happy should not be the goal. If it is, you will fail....all the time.

Remember, earth is not Heaven. If you keep heaven at the forefront of your thinking, it'll make this life easier to live. Life on earth compared to life in Heaven is kinda like comparing a droplet of water to an ocean. To us, eighty years feels like a long time, but really, it's just a drop of water - a spray of mist in the air that disappears momentarily. Many of us are trying to have our perfect "heaven" here on earth. But, there will be pain living on this earth - it's unavoidable. We have to realize that the perfection of life and "happiness" (we're continually seeking) will come on the other side of this life here on earth.