The Secret to Happiness

I once had someone tell me the secret to happiness:

"All you have to do is never expect anything. It's that simple. I learned a long time ago that if I never expect anything, everything is more exciting and I appreciate it more, because I never expected anything to begin with."

Well, that seemed reasonable, so I tried it. I began by telling my parents, right around my birthday:

"I don't expect anything, I just want you to know that. Whatever little things you end up giving me, I'll be thankful for, because I expect nothing from you guys."

That hurt their feelings a little--since they'd planned out some special things for me--but I figured I'd stumbled onto something novel that they didn't get because (my reasoning was) they were parents, and probably no one in their generation knew about stuff like true happiness.

So I always tried really hard to expect nothing. Christmas, family trips, friends I had, activities I was involved in--the less I expected, the happier I'd be, right?

Maybe you relate! While a lot of times we do "expect too much" in life and get "unhappy," I think we're just as guilty of not expecting ENOUGH on some points. We shouldn't be tacking impossible expectations on the people and circumstances in our lives, but what about the promises we have in Christ?

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you." The Bible is full of God's unfailing promises for our lives. As His children, we have access to SO much EVERY morning! And that's a pretty fantastic feeling.

How's your semester looking? Classes, schedules, roommates, New Year's resolutions? Have "high expectations" made you feel "unhappy" lately?

Want to know the secret? Dig into God's Word for His unfailing promises. God may not always work just as you expected...but without a doubt, you can expect Him to supply just what you needed, as He's promised.

And that is the adventure that comes with walking by faith. We are in for a marvelous 2015!

Anna Grace

Major: Performance Studies

Home town: “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through...” Also, my dad is in the Air Force.

View all posts by Anna Grace