What Are You Waiting on to Make You Happy?

Are you waiting on something to happen before you can be happy with your life?

I’ll be happy when…

• I get my dream job

• I get married

• I move

• I have children

• I have more money

When I finished college in my early twenties, I thought my life wouldn’t actually begin until I was married.

Once I could check marriage off my to-do list, I would then become a mother, have a family, and live happily ever after.

God had other plans. I longed for marriage seven years before I met my future husband.

When you are focused on what you don’t have, years can feel like decades.

God also had other plans regarding the children I so desperately wanted. They never came.

It’s in our human nature to think, “If I only had (you fill in the blank), then I’d be happy!”

What does the Bible have to say?

The Bible teaches us to be content in this moment regardless of circumstances.

Philippians 4:11 (NKJV) “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:”

Paul wrote these words from a prison cell. During his time of service to God, He knew what it was like to have plenty and to be in need. We aren’t only to be content in good times but in the hard times as well.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work to achieve our goals or fulfill our dreams.

We need to be careful not to be so focused on our future that we miss our present.

The Bible teaches us to be grateful for what we have in this moment.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV) “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Being thankful in our current situation will help us not to be distracted by our unmet wishes.

As Christians, our circumstances don’t have to affect our level of gratitude.

We must remember our vision for our lives rarely matches God’s plan detail for detail. Being satisfied with what we have now brings peace, knowing all things are a gift from God. (see James 1:17)

God’s plan is so much better for us than we can ever imagine. (see Ephesians 3:20)

Is there anything you’ve been waiting to happen so you can be happy in life? Don’t let it place blinders over your eyes preventing you from seeing and appreciating what’s right in front of you.