I believe pleasure can become one of the biggest detours to true, God-given happiness. While we all want to be truly happy, too often we settle for mere pleasure. We enjoy moments of delight, but satisfying and lasting happiness, or what the Bible calls joy, eludes us. One of the reasons is that we look toward the outside world for our sources of pleasure.

When our senses are gratified, we feel pleasure: when we smell a rose, or pet a puppy, or eat a really good chocolate chip cookie. God has made us this way. For instance, it’s not bad to enjoy a good meal. But often our really good meals aren’t just about the food. They’re also about who we spend the meal with, or who made the meal for us. Our relationships with friends and family can lead us to joy, especially if those relationships are based on a shared love of Jesus. The internal emotions and connections are what make us extra happy. But happiness and joy are not the same thing.

The Bible often connects joy with the Spirit of God, who dwells within all Christians. The disciples were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit,” the Bible says. This joy comes from our spirit instead of our senses, and so it can never be taken from us. Even if we’re hungry or tired, we can still feel the joy of the Lord. This joy is what the world needs in dark times, and what we can demonstrate to others as we try reaching our world.    

This is Luis Palau.