The Pursuit of 'Happiness': Where True Joy Resides

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I want to start with a simple question today. Now, it's gonna be a simple question. The answer might not be so simple, but this is the question. What is happiness? And where does true joy reside?It's a tough question, isn't it? You know, I was thinking the other day about this, and a memory popped into my head. It was just a few years back. I remember like it was yesterday.I was really caught up in my own world. I remember the time I was chasing this big career goal. I was working long hours, and, man, I was feeling drained.I was feeling tired from that constant push. And I remember looking back at it now. On paper, everything looked great.But deep down, when I really was honest with myself, I felt this spiritual emptiness. And I kept telling myself, like so many of us do, once I hit this milestone, then I'll truly be happy.Once I get that job or that career goal I was looking for, I'd be happy. And then I'll never forget it. One weekend, my phone rang, and it was a friend of mine. And they were going through a really tough time. They were sick.The whole family was sick, as a matter of fact. And they just needed a hand with some chores and. And a few meals. Someone that helped them get through a day or two.And to be honest with you, looking back at it now, it was a huge interruption to my plans for the day. To be honest, my first thought was, ugh, I don't have time for this today. But my wife and I, we talked about it.We just felt this gentle nudge, this quiet prompting to go and help them. So what do we do? We went. We spent a whole day just serving them. We cooked for them. We helped them clean their house.Yes, Ralph helped them clean their house. Believe it or not, I didn't do any cooking. Wife took care of that. We just spent time with them and we listened to them. It was a great day.You know what? That day of interruption, it was completely not what I had planned to do that day.But that day of interruption, that day of putting someone else's needs before my own, it brought me more joy than any personal project or purchase I could have ever imagined. See that right there? That's the power of purpose over pleasure. And it was a complete breakthrough for me.So today I want to talk about finding happiness. And what does that look like? And what does that joy look like? That's what I'm going to cover on today's show. Feeling lost in today's headlines.Seeking God's truth for our chaotic culture. Welcome to Truth Unveiled with Ralph, we'll cut through the noise, guiding you to biblical discernment for your faith, your finances, and your life.Now here's Ralph Estep Jr. Hey there. It's really good to connect with you today. You know, we've been tackling some pretty heavy stuff lately, haven't we?If you've caught the show, we talked about the scarcity mindset and how to move from worry to really trusting God. We talked about things like cancel culture and the digital divide. But today I want to explore something.Everyone, and I mean everyone, if you're listening right now, everyone has experienced this and everyone seems to be chasing this. And that's happiness. We're going to explore this. Today's topic is the pursuit of happiness, where true joy lives. I started to question the beginning.What does that look like? Well, let's be real for a second, okay? Ask yourself this. How much of your life do you spend trying to be happy?Seriously, how much time do you really spend trying to be happy? What does that chase actually look like for you? Hey, I've shared with you. My thing was about that career goal.It's been stuff that I've bought from time to time. But maybe for you it's a big thing, like dreaming of that new car. You can even picture it sitting there in the garage, man.It's got shiny new paint, that new car smell. You just can't wait to get behind the wheel and just drive it up and down Main Street. So excited about that idea of that new car.Or maybe for you, it's that perfect vacation. You're looking forward to snapping some Instagram pictures from an exotic location. You can share those with all your social media friends.Maybe for you, it's nothing big. It's just something small like a new gadget or that fancy coffee you treat yourself to.I want you to stop what you're doing right now and just take a few seconds and just picture something in your mind. Just picture what that looks like for you. You got it? Okay, now here's what I want you to do.I want you to think about that feeling you get when you first get something you've really wanted. You've got that picture in your mind and you're just living that now.But just think about that excitement when you get that thing that you really wanted, that high, that thrill. It feels amazing, doesn't it? And for a moment, maybe just a quick flash in the pan moment, you feel happy.But then ask yourself what happens a week later or maybe a month later. Hey, sometimes it's the end of the day. How do you feel? If we're being honest with ourselves, that feeling just starts to fade, doesn't it?That high gives way to a new one, a new thing to chase, and the whole chase starts all over again. And listen, I'm not telling you something I haven't felt. I've totally felt that myself. I remember when I was.Like I said earlier, I was focused on a specific job goal. I told myself, hey, once I reach that, I'll be happy. Then I'll feel like I've made it. And I worked so hard. I gave up a lot. I sacrificed time.I sacrifice things that I would rather have done. And when I finally got there, sure, there was this brief moment of celebration. It was ecstatic. It was great, fantastic.But looking back at it, almost immediately, the empty feeling crept right back in. See, it wasn't this lasting peace I thought it would be. And before I knew it, my mind was already on that next goal, that next thing to chase.And then it hit me. I was on a treadmill. I was in a tiring race that there was no way that I could win.Let me ask you right now, as you're sitting there, you're listening to this right now. Does that sound familiar to you? And it's not just the big goals, is it? I remember saving up for a long time to buy a new watch. I was so excited.I had to have this watch. I mean, all the influencers had it. Everybody that was. That was. Somebody had it.I remember I went to the mall, I picked out this watch, and I'm just walking down through the mall. I brought it home, I opened the box and used it. And that very first night, I felt that thrills like, oh, listen, I've arrived. I've got this watch.But honestly, and I got to be honest with you, within a few days, that thrill was gone. That happy feeling had just completely faded away.And that hole that I had, that hole, that desire that I had to get it, that hole that I thought it would fill, guess what? It was still there. The only difference was I had a lot less money at that point. And it showed me something. It showed me that happiness that you buy.And I want you to hear this, and I want you to hear this loud and clear. The happiness that you buy is just a rental. We see this everywhere, don't we? If we're going to be honest with ourselves, we see it everywhere.The world tells us that happiness is a destination oh, you got to get here. The world tells us that it's something you earn with success.Hey, when you've had success, you arrive, you can get this stuff, you buy it with stuff, or you find through perfect experiences, those curated experiences. It's a feeling that depends on what's happening outside of you. Always just around the corner, just a little bit, you know, outside of your reach.But I want to challenge you right now. Think about King Solomon from the Bible. I mean, this guy literally had it all.He had wealth, he had power, he had every single pleasure you could imagine. And he chased it endlessly. But what did he find in the end? In the scripture it says, he said it was all this is his word, empty.He even goes further to say it was like chasing the wind and that nothing was gained. Think about that for a second. Here's Solomon, the man who had everything. But he learned the hard way what the Bible is telling us so clearly.And I want you to hear this now. True joy can never be found in the endless chase for worldly happiness. It just can't be true. Joy can never be found there.It's just an endless chase for worldly happiness. Hey, I'm going to talk about some modern studies. As I was prepared for today's show, I did some study on this. The idea of consumerism.Let's just talk about that for a second. This powerful, dynamic and strong force, it's what pushes us to buy more.But the problem is it creates this huge dissatisfaction gap because instead of making us happy, and this is really sinister, but when you really examine this, instead of making us happy, more stuff often just makes us want more stuff. More stuff. And it traps us in this never ending cycle. And see, here's the thing.Research consistently shows that believing happiness, materialism, if you believe that the idea that material things bring happiness is actually, and this was, I couldn't believe this when I read this, it's actually negatively linked to how satisfied you are with your life overall. Think about that for a second. The idea that material things bring you happiness, it's got a link to your satisfaction with your life overall. Why?Well, here's why. Because materialists often set unrealistically high goals. They just do.Or they use possessions to compensate for personal weaknesses like slow self esteem or a need for security. Because truth is, most of the time when you're out there chasing after that, you're really dealing with low self esteem.You're, you're trying to find that security. You're trying to compensate for your own personal weaknesses. I know that's tough love, but it's a truth. And it's a tough cycle to break.And the problem is advertising. Oh man, it's the master of this game. Advertising paints this unrealistic picture of happiness.It often connects products to glamour, think about that. Yourself, every magazine, everything that you see on social media, it connects these things to money and power and possessions.And you see it, don't you? And it subtly suggests that buying things can fulfill deep human desires like solidarity. That is a desire that obviously we want to be together.Or maybe it can buy intimacy or closeness. And hey, here's one that's really bad. It suggests that buying things can actually make you feel love. But here's the truth.These are deliberately unattainable visions and they're designed to track our natural desire for things that feel good. Because we have that natural desire. We want things that feel good. Let's be honest with ourselves. We want things that feel good.But the problem is it leads us into a cycle of purchases and disappointment. Purchase, disappointment, purchase disappointment. That's just a marketing side.Then there's social media, which is just a supercharger of all of this. Think about it yourself. You're looking through social media. You're constantly seeing perfectly curated, idealized images of other people's lives.Wow, look what this person has. Hey look, look at this person has. I can't believe what they have. And all it's doing is creating an unhealthy self absorption and comparison trap.As I reviewed for today's show, studies have shown a strong link between more social media use and listen to this. More social media use and higher levels of materialism. And comparing yourself to others, does that surprise anybody? It's obvious.And all that upward social comparison information encountered online distorts everybody's self perception and judgment and it impacts their emotional well being. Guess what? In the wrong way. Truth is, studies have found that this can lead to lower self esteem, it leads to dissatisfaction with life and even.Listen to this one. I was shocked when I read this. Even a higher risk of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Think about that for a second.You're seeing all this on social media. You would think it would lead you to something positive, but it's not. What is it leading to?Studies have shown higher risk of depression, higher risk of anxiety and bitter loneliness. Because we're trying to create this perfect life through social media validation. And it just becomes another chase and we chase and we chase me.We drain our real joy and it makes us feel like we're not good enough. See, that's what that's what social. I'm going to take a little tangent here for a second.Social media is designed to make you feel like you're not good enough because everything you see is better than you have. Oh, look at this beautiful person, what they have. Oh, look at how skinny they are. Look at how tall they are.Look at how whatever those things are perfectly curated. And what is it saying to you? It's saying to you, hey, Ralph, you're not enough, or hey Joe, you're not enough, hey, Brooke, you're not enough.And that's what it's doing. It's draining our joy.Because we're constantly in this chase to find that perfect life and ultimately this constant chase for happiness, which is all about external stuff. See, it's not about what's internal. It's all about what happens to you. And here's why I wanted to talk about this today.Because it comes at a huge spiritual cost. What did I say a few minutes ago? It drains our joy. It makes us feel like we're never quite good enough.Like nothing ever feels right for just too long. Like I talked about when I brought that watch home. I thought I was going to, hey, this is great. I got to have this watch.This is the best thing I've ever had. It was going to fill that void. It was going to help me build, build back some of those things that I was feeling. Self esteem issues.But didn't last very long, did it? And it pushes us to chase these quick moments of pleasure that leave us feeling empty inside. We're always in that chase. It fills us with envy.See, when we see other people who seem to have more, it makes us to believe this lie. And this is a lie from the enemy. And I want you to hear this and I want you to hear it now. That peace depends on our circumstances.See, that's the lie. The lie is that our peace, the true joy, the peace, that happiness that eludes us depends on circumstances. And that's a tiring game, my friend.And unfortunately, it's a game you're never truly going to win. And here's the truth.Because happiness as the world sees it, I'm talking about the way culture sees it, I talk about on the show all the time, is a moving target. It's just a feeling. It's tied to what happens to you. It's there one minute and gone the next.But let me ask you right now, and this is a sobering thought, what if there was a different way? What if there was a deeper, more lasting kind of joy One that wasn't tied to what was happening to you. A joy that's always there, no matter what.So let me ask you this question. Does God's word have anything to say about this constant universal chase?Does the Bible, with all its ancient wisdom, offer a way to find a joy that other culture could never steal? Well, my friend, you can truly take a deep breath, because you bet absolutely it does.And it's a truth that can finally get you off that tiring treadmill and give you a deep joy that truly will fill your soul. Let's open up God's word and let's see what he has to say about joy.And remember, as I say on the show all the time, this is not just a bunch of old stories. The Bible is a set of living promises for your soul, guiding you from a restless chase to a place of rest.Let's go right to the first Bible verse I want to talk about. This is from the book of Psalms, chapter 16, verse 11. And this is a beautiful, simple verse. I want you to just listen to this for a second.You make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures. Furthermore, think about that for a second.What is the Psalmist telling us? In your presence, there is fullness of joy. Is that what the world's telling you? No, it's not.It's saying, go get more stuff, go on more trips, go find that right person, and then you'll find joy. But God's word saying something completely opposite. I'm talking about completely different than that. What is it telling us?Joy isn't something you get. You're not going to ever buy joy. Here's a takeaway. Right now, you are never going to be able to buy joy.Joy is something you experience when you are with him. And what am I talking about? Him with God. It's a gift that comes from being in a relationship with. With God.It's not about the things going on around you. It's about being close to God within you.And that's a joy that is full, not just for a moment, not just for that fleeting couple days or couple weeks, if you're lucky. And it's a joy that's eternal and will never go flat or stale. That sounds great, doesn't it?And this amazing access to God's presence and joy it brings is possible because why? Because of what Jesus has done. And Jesus did something we could never do for ourselves. So let's go look at Jesus himself.Let's Go look at the Book of John, chapter 15, verse 11. Because Jesus gives us this powerful promise. Again, this is John, chapter 15, verse 11. This is the words of Jesus.These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Think about that for a second. What is Jesus saying to you? That my joy may be in you?See, Jesus isn't offering a short moment of happiness, not some burst of quick joy. He's offering his joy, a joy of being in a perfect relationship with God the Father. The joy of having a purpose, the joy of being loved.It's not a joy that's dependent on your circumstances, and that's the beautifulness of it. It's an internal. It's a selfless. It's a sacrificial joy that lit up the darkest hours of his own human life and that no sorrow could ever overcome.And see, he wants us to have that joy, to be full inside of us. He wants us to be overflowing with this. And here's the key.Obeying God's commands and staying in his love are direct ways to experience this complete and. And overwhelming joy. Well, let's go look at the Book of Romans, my favorite book of the Bible.Let's go to Romans, chapter 15, verse 13, because it gives us a powerful prayer for his joy. And this is one that I think you should commit to your heart, because this is one that can help you find joy when you don't feel so joyful.But this is what it says.Romans 15:13, it says, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. And this joy and peace came from believing, from trusting him.It's not something you have to have happen on your own. It's a gift from God poured into you by the Holy Spirit. It's this supernatural kind of joy that the world can't give you. Listen to me right now.Hear my voice. The. The world cannot give it to you.And the best part is the world can't take it away from you, even when you might not feel joyful or peaceful because of life's challenges. And hey, the reality of life is we're all going to have challenges, but we can have this joy.The reality of peace and joy that we enjoy in Christ does not depend on our subjective experience. It's already given to us. And this divine gift becomes a dominating presence, a controlling influence And a driving force in a believer's life.Now you might be saying, Ralph, where do we find this call to this kind of joy? Well, let me. Let's continue in the Bible. Let's look at the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verse 4. And this is from Paul.This is what Paul says, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice, Rejoice in the Lord always. It's not just a suggestion, it's a command. It's not a feeling.See a lot of what the world wants to tell you. It's that feeling of joy. That's why I feel good right now. Think about this for a second. Paul wrote this from prison.Just ponder that for just a moment. He wasn't happy about his situation. Would you be happy being in prison? Would you have joy in the Lord sitting in prison? But he had joy in the Lord.Now there's a testimony because Paul had a deep seated joy that was there no matter what he faced. The jail bars couldn't break his joy. And to rejoice here meant he. It meant that he could take heart or have courage.That's what the word rejoice really means. Even when happiness seems far away. Even when happiness was on the outside of what the world perceived as joy for Paul.And that steadfastness is possible because the Lord is near by the Holy Spirit providing comfort and ensuring that even our most difficult circumstances, even in our most difficult circumstances, we can't get wrenched away from these, either Lord or God's love. This is the kind of joy that allows us to find peace and satisfaction no matter what we face. And we face challenging things, don't we?Let's get back to the words of King Solomon. Let's look at the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 2, verses 1 to 11. Because this just hits so hard on the topic.And he was the man who had it all, right? That's what we talked about. King Solomon had it all. All the money, all the power, all the pleasures the world says will make you happy.And he was chasing it endlessly. But what did he find? What did he say? He said it was all empty. He said it was like chasing the wind. He said, I hated life. Nothing was gained.Again, Solomon, the man who had it all, discovered the hard way what the Bible is telling us so clearly, that true joy can never be found in the endless chase for worldly happiness. I remember a time when that verse just hit me in my soul. I was working long hours.I was feeling drained and tired from this Constant push for the next goal. And I felt this spiritual emptiness.Even though everything on paper looked good, in my quiet time reading those very words of Solomon, I finally understood something. And I want you to hear this today. That constant chase was the problem. That was the problem itself. The treadmill itself was the problem.And the moment I just stopped, I just stopped. I closed my eyes and I chose to thank God for where I was, not where I wanted to be. And the peace that came.It was like a complete breakthrough in my life. It was the first time I truly understood the difference between worldly happiness and God's joy. And finally, one more piece of scripture.Today, Jesus gives us this radical truth. This is in the book of Matthew, chapter 16, verses 24 to 25. It says this.Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. That's a tall order, isn't it?But this is the key to the whole thing. See, the world tells us to get happy by gaining our lives. Go get it. Go get it. Go. Go buy it. But Jesus says something completely different.He says we find true life, true joy. By doing what? By giving our lives away, but not just thinking of ourselves, actually following him. It's a complete paradox, isn't it?It's self denial in this context. And what does it mean? It means refraining from personal desires and comforts to honor God and align with Christ's teaching.It's sacrificing immediate gratification for higher spiritual commitments. What did he say? Take up the cross. What was the cross? A symbol of brutal execution in Jesus time? What was he saying to us?He was making a call for us to die to the world, to die to our own will and surrender entirely to God. What does that really mean?It means prioritizing divine principles over personal interests and being ready to lose family, being ready to lose friends, being able to lose reputation, and yes, being able to lose possessions. You really want to find that joy? Are you willing to take up that cross? That's a really tough question, isn't it?But this commitment, if you're willing to do it, it changes you from the inside out.And that's what truly leads to deep spiritual growth and a deeper connection with God and ultimately life in all its fullness and a life of joy and abundance. The path of lasting joy is not the path of pleasure. I'm sorry to tell you that that might not be. What did you wanted to hear today?But the path to lasting joy is the path of obedience and purpose. So the Bible's message is pretty clear, isn't it? Happiness, as the world sees it is a pursuit. But joy, as God defines it, is what? It's a gift.It's not found in things. It's found in being close to him. It's a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it's a command to our hearts to rejoice always, no matter what.What did Paul say? In all things, I rejoice. Even behind prison bars. See, this isn't about God being mad at you.If you want to be happy, friend, it's okay to want to be happy. But it's about him loving you so much that he wants you to experience true, lasting joy.Not that flash in the pan joy he wants you to experience, a joy that can't be taken away by any circumstances. Now, as you know this show, my focus on this show is always to contrast our culture's way with God's way. So let's talk about that right now.Let's discuss what I call the happiness trap versus the freedom of joy. Because here's the stark, real difference between what the chase or happiness often pushes and what God's word truly reveals about joy.It's a choice that impacts your peace, it impacts your contentment, and it impacts your very soul. Let's talk first about culture's way, what I call the happiness trap. Because the world promises that happiness is a destination.I've said that a couple times today, but it's so true. It's something that you earn through success.It's something that you buy with your possessions or you find through those perfectly curated experiences. This is what philosophers call hedonia. You may recognize the word hedonism. What is hedonism? It's focusing on pleasure attainment and pain avoidance.That's the definition of hedonoia or hedonism. And that's a feeling that depends on what happens outside of you. It's that thing I talked about a few minutes ago.It's always just around the corner, just quite out of your reach. And if you stay on that path, it's going to lead to complete discontentment. It's going to lead to spiritual emptiness. You're going to be wore out.You're going to constantly compare yourself to others, and you're going to be in a tiring race that never ends. Trust me, I've been there throughout my life.You're always on a treadmill, just trying to get to a place of happiness, only to find when you get there, guess what? The feeling fades and you start all over again. You get right back on that treadmill and start to run in again.And in that path, in that pursuit, your peace is vulnerable because it's tied to external circumstances. How many times have you heard I'm a victim of circumstances? Well, that's exactly what I'm talking about here.It makes you the slave of externals and the sport of time and chance. That's all you are at that point. You're a sport of time and chance. It's all based on what happens from the outside. That's culture's way.But let's talk about God's way for a minute. The freedom of joy. I mentioned this a few minutes ago. What does the Bible reveal? The Bible reveals that joy is a gift. It's not something you go get.It's a state of being bigger than that. It's a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It's not a destination, it's a constant companion with. It's where you are. It goes with you wherever you go.And that joy doesn't depend on what happens to you. It's just on being close to Christ. This is like eudaimonia, or human flourishing. Now that's a big word, isn't it?Had to look that one up because I was doing my research for it today. But what it means is exactly what we're talking about.Eudaimonia, which focuses on a meaning and self realization and the development of human potential. That's a path unlike the world's path, that will lead you to amazing peace. It'll lead you to deep contentment. It'll lead you to genuine fulfillment.Freedom from comparison. We talk about social media, it's all about comparison. What do they have? What do I need to go get?And in the end, it leads you to a life of purpose because it makes your heart thankful, it makes your hands open to serving others, and it makes your spirit vibrant with the confidence that joy is secure where and the only one who can truly give you joy. And that's in Christ. And that joy is not external, it's internal and it's selfless. It's sacrificial.And it's a continual deep peace in a person's inner being that all is well, regardless of the circumstances. I rejoice. Always think about back to the culture, the pursuit of happiness. I want you to believe something completely different.I want you to believe that fulfillment is a product you can buy that Feeling of fulfillment. You can go buy that, or, hey, you can earn that feeling. Well, guess what? You can't buy it, and you're never going to earn it.That's just a hard truth. But it's the truth.But God invites you to a path of joy, a spiritual act that unlocks a lasting peace and a sense of purpose that no circumstance can ever steal. And that right there, that's a path to real freedom. So now you're asking Ralph, I'm on board. I get it.But how do we actually live out this liberating truth in a world?And listen, you know as well as I do, how do you live that liberating truth in a world that's constantly encouraging us to chase after the next happy thing? How do we find that unshakable joy and take faithful action when our natural inclination. Listen, the flesh. Our natural inclination.We got to accept this. Is to keep running on that treadmill. Hey, that's our natural inclination to get back on that treadmill.Go get what we want, and then we're empty again. Go back on that treadmill again. Hey, we're truly in a tough spot.But there are some real simple steps focused on moving from a chase for happiness to a life of true, lasting joy and walking in God's wisdom. Now, I want to give you some actual things that you can do right now to go find that lasting joy. So you ask yourself this.Let me start by making a decision to choose his presence over your own performance. That's where it really starts. How do you do that? You make a real effort to spend unhurried, quiet time in prayer and reading the Bible. Yes.I'm going to tell you to go back to the Bible, spend time in prayer and reading, because you got to focus on being with God. If we're going to find true joy in that relationship with God, well, how is she going to get to it? You got to build that relationship with him.Stop trying to perform or to earn his favor. You don't have to do any of those things. And you're never going to earn it. It's a gift to you. That's where true joy is found, in his presence.And when you can shift your focus from what you're doing to who he is, you're never going to earn that with God. You're never going to perform enough to be at God's standards. He's already given it to you.But when you can shift your focus from what you're doing to who he is, you'll experience a fullness of joy that the Psalm 16 talks about, because that's a spiritual act that connects you directly to the source of all joy. What's the source of joy? It's a relationship with God. It's a relationship with Jesus Christ himself.And this practice is a lot like mindfulness, which studies show reduces rumination. What is rumination? Another big word. It's that endless overthinking. We all listen.I'm going to be honest with you, I find myself in rumination all the time. What does that lead to? It leads to stress.When we can break down that stress, we're going to be more positive, we're going to have positive emotions and we're going to have less anxiety. And here's a byproduct of that. Helps you savor the moment.How many times did we lose out on the moment because we weren't understanding where we were?And when you can savor the moment when you're not constantly in that rumination, that endless overthinking and that stress, it's going to boost your psychological health. But now you're thinking, Ralph, how do I even do that? Well, here's what you do. Start with just five minutes of quiet time a day.Put your phone in another room. Play some worship. I talked about this on the show a couple weeks ago. When I'm down in the gym and I'm really focusing in on the gym.I'm losing weight, I'm getting in shape. I play some worship music. It works for me, maybe for you. Sit in silence and simply pray. Say, God, fill me with your joy. That's where joy comes from.It's not going to come from that watch. It's not going to come from that vacation. It's not going to come from that shiny new car sitting in your garage or in your driveway.It comes from God and he's willing to give it to you for free. But it's in those moments of quiet that I found that we're actually able to hear God's voice.And we don't stop, we don't pause, we don't put that phone down, turn the Internet off, stop. In the death scrolls of social media, go build that relationship with God. How do you do that? You pray, you read the scriptures.And now I want you to do something else. I want to encourage you to focus on purpose over short term pleasure. It's all about that hedonism we talked about a little while ago.How do you do that? Well, actively look for ways to serve other people and live out your unique Calling. God has given you a gift. He's given you a unique calling.No one else in the world has the same calling that you have. Because here's the thing you need to understand. Chasing pleasure often leads to emptiness.If you're just chasing after it, you're going to keep on chasing. You're going to keep on chasing and you're going to get that. And you want something bigger, and you want something bigger than that.Listen, I've been there. I've been there so many times in my life.Or if I just get this, if I just get this job, if I just land this client, if I just go buy this, if I get this car, if I get this. And what did I have at the end? I was empty. I was more empty than before. Hey, a lot of times you're more in debt than before.I'm getting into the financial side about this, but you're more in debt. But a life of purpose. I'm talking about a true life of purpose found in loving and found in living for Christ and others.That's where a deep, lasting fulfillment is really found. Because that brings a joy that isn't dependent on what's happening. It's not going to depend on what's going on externally.And this is powerfully supported by research on altruism. That's another big word. And community engagement.But studies have shown that unselfish individuals will find life to be more meaningful, will usually be happier than their selfish counterparts, and will often experience better mental health. Hey, you want better mental health? Stop being selfish. Start helping others.Because they've actually had studies now that show helping others can even promote physiological changes in the brain which are linked to happiness. Creates a sense of belonging and reduced feelings of isolation. Thinking about, how do I do that? Here's what I encourage you to do.Look for a place to serve in your local church or community. Find a skill that you have and use it for God's glory. God gave you skills. God gave you talents. God gave you things, gifts that he wants you to use.So make it a prayer. Make it an earnest daily prayer to ask God to show you where your purpose is. And then take some small, faithful steps to walk it out.Hey, we can have great intentions, but put it into action. Walk it out. Another suggestion I have is to choose praise over possessions. This is a big one.In those moments when you feel that, that pull to buy something, want, that quick dopamine high, that quick happy feeling, or maybe discontentment as you start on scrolling on Amazon or whatever, you're doing. I want you to just intentionally stop and give God praise instead.When you're feeling that urge to buy something, like I'm feeling down right now, I feel discouraged. Ralph, I just want to encourage you, intentionally stop and give God praise instead.Because here's the thing I want you to, I want you to know, and you need to understand this. Praise and possessions are constantly battling for your heart. This is what the battle is, is the war. This is where the war is happening.The battlefield is this Praise and possessions. They're battling for your heart. But praising God reminds you that he is enough. What we talk about. This whole show is all about joy.And joy comes from him, not from things. If you don't hear anything else, if you have no other takeaway from today, your true joy. I'm answering the question. I started beginning.Your true joy comes from him, not from things. And that's a direct antidote to that consumerism mindset.And this ties into the benefits of gratitude practices because research shows that regularly practicing gratitude, if you actually do this, if you actually practice gratitude, it can, and this is right from the research, it can enhance mental wellness and possibly promote a lasting change of perspective. Think about that. If you take on a role of practicing intentional gratitude, you'll have better mental wellness, lasting change of perspective.It reduces depression symptoms. Yes, it's true. Research shows that if you are practicing intentional, intentional gratitude, you'll have less depression.It helps you cope with anxiety because you're constantly. You're combating that negative thinking patterns. Hey, there are even physical benefits like lowering high blood pressure. I was amazed to read this.You want to lower your blood pressure. Listen, I'm not a doctor. I don't Play 1 on TV.But there are physical benefits to being intentionally grateful and intentionally helping other people out. They've shown it to lower your high blood pressure. They show it to improve your sleep and. And actually this one was shocking to me.They show that it strengthens the immune system. You wonder how to do it when you feel that urge to shop, pause and say out loud, lord, I thank you for who you are.You are my joy and you're enough for me. Maybe create a worship playlist for your commuter while doing chores and let your heart be filled with praise. See that? Praise is direct path to joy.I do this every day when I exercise. I mentioned that a few minutes ago. Honestly, in many ways. Think about this for a second.In many ways it comes down to the thing that people have said from I can remember when I was a kid, garbage in Garbage out. What are you filling your mind with? Flip the script a second. Think about this. Put praises in. What's going to come out?Praises are going to go out well. Now let's talk about some specific ideas to battle against culture. I just got a couple more of these.Start by taking a look at your spending for lasting joy, not short term happiness. I'm gonna put my accountant hat on for a second. Take an honest look at your budget. Look at how you spend your money.Ask yourself this really probing question. Am I buying this for a quick thrill that will fade? Or is this a choice that will bring true lasting joy and peace? The truth is this.The world sells us things that promise happiness, but only give a quick high. It's like a drug dealer, hey, you want to get high? I'm gonna give it to you real quick. That's the world's giving us. Promises happen.Oh, you'll be happy if you do this. Go buy this. But that high lace about this long. It's quick.And research consistently shows that happiness materialism has a significantly negative correlation with life satisfaction. What is that saying to us? In simple terms, materialism leads to no satisfaction in life.See, money spent purely on acquiring possessions for fleeting pressure often contributes to deeper dissatisfaction. That's the oxymoron of this. The more you spend in chasing that high, in chasing that joy, in chasing that happiness, what is the research showing?It contributes to deeper dissatisfaction and deeper debt for many of us. So by looking at our spending, we can be more intentional with our money, making sure it lines up with our faith and bringing us lasting peace.I want to encourage you right now, spend on experiences rather than just material goods. Because research has shown that increased happiness leads from buying and spending on experiences, not stuff. And that leads to greater satisfaction.Like that day my wife and I spent with our friends just in service. Because here's the truth. Excitement is all about the experiences and those, those memories that you remember. You can do this right away.Next time you're looking at your budget, put a star next to any purchase that was purely for quick happy feeling. Look at the end of the paper and see how many stars you got.Ask yourself how that money could have been better used for long term goals or, or deeper purpose or an act of generosity. What? We talked about generosity a little while ago. What does the research show? That generosity actually makes you feel better about yourself.It leads to joy, it leads to happiness, it leads to that lasting joy. And next, I want to encourage you to do one more thing and that's choose Radical contentment and gratitude.The people that I know are the happiest people are the ones that choose to be happy with what they have rather than constantly wanting more. Let me explain this. That feeling of not good enough is what fuels that happiness trap. That's what the happiness trap is fueled by.That's the gasoline to it. But contentment is a spiritual act that frees you from the pressure to keep up with others.That gratitude we talked about opens our eyes to God's generous hand and it directly fights negative thoughts and comparison psychologically. Set point theory suggests this. While big life events might temporarily change our happiness, we use a return to our baseline level of well being.What does that mean? This means that external changes don't have a huge long term impact on happiness.Those things that come to us from the outside, those things we buy, those things we do, those things we try to obtain, they don't give us long term happiness. But what it does find is making internal contentment and gratitude will actually lead you to lasting joy. How do you do this?How do you put, how do you make this happen? I'll encourage you right now. Make a daily list of things that you are truly grateful for. I probably mentioned this on the show, my daily show.I do a daily show called Financially Common Decoration. I'm encouraged to check it out, but I talk about this on my show all the time. Make a habit of being grateful what you have.And do me a favor, stop comparing your life to others, especially on social media. Look, I'm getting to the point where it's almost time to turn off social media altogether because all it is is a comparison trap.It just tries to keep us in this happiness gap that we're always trying to search at something else and focus on experiences over things. Decide instead to choose joy in what God has already provided you. My dear friend, this pursuit of happiness is a very real tiring pressure.You're probably feeling it right now. Most of us are felt it. If we're not feeling it right now, we felt it before. And that pursuit of happiness tries to steal your peace.It tries to steal your joy.And if we're not careful, it will steal your contentment because it tells you a bold faced lie that fulfillment is a product you can buy or some fleeting feeling that you can earn. And it keeps you on that treadmill feeling empty, feeling worn out. You're just kind of running in place.But God's truth calls us to something so much richer. God's truth calls us to something so much deeper and infinitely more Satisfying. He calls us to rest in the unchanging reality of his joy.That's what we talked about today. And joy is a gift. It's a fruit of his spirit and a constant companion no matter what happens. As Paul said, rejoice in all things.And that joy right there is not dependent on external circumstances, but flows from an internal God centered orientation. That's a joy that's unshakable. That's a joy that provides you true resilience and peace regardless of life's unpredictable nature.Life is unpredictable. And I just want to assure you one more thing. You're absolutely not alone in feeling this pressure, my friend. We're all feeling it.But bigger than that, God sees your exhaustion. God sees you're striving and he knows you're longing for a joy that lasts. And he offers you a way to finally get off that treadmill.He offers you a way to find deep peace and purpose. Not in chasing fleeting feelings. And that's exactly what they are. They're just fleeting feelings. It's to get happy for today.So much deeper than that. But in being with him, he offers a peace that isn't tied to your success, but it's tied to his unfailing love and eternal truth.Let's choose that together. Let's choose that together today to courageously resist the world's happiness trap. Let's choose a life of purpose over a life of pleasure.Let's choose his abiding joy over the pursuit of fleeting feelings.Knowing that our truest joy, our deepest security and our most important purpose are found in truly walking with God, resting in his presence and living in the abundant joy that he's already given us. Because this is where true freedom is already lived. And it's where spiritual wholeness blossoms.And I want to share something even more important than finding your true joy or getting out of that happiness trap. Those things are important. But I want to share something even more important. It's the deepest connection of all.And that's a relationship with God Himself, the One who created you, the One who loves you beyond measure.If you've been listening today, perhaps feeling that heavy weight of the world, that creature, that happiness trap, or feeling that emptiness deep inside side that no amount of things or amazing experiences can ever truly fill. And maybe your heart has just been gently nudged to realize the only real.I'm talking about the only real, the only lasting peace comes from God Himself. And perhaps you've never truly given your whole life to Jesus Christ. Yeah, you might have heard about Him. I know that guy. Jesus. Yeah, he's cool.I've seen pictures of him before in church. But you've never taken that step of trusting him completely. I just want to remind you of something. He's the one who beat sin.He's the one who conquered death. He beat death. And yes, he even beat the relentless pursuit of happiness and the despair of this world. We live in a despair world.And he offers not just good advice for life, hey, we could stop there. But it's so much bigger than that. He offers eternal life and a relationship with God that absolutely nothing can shake and nothing can steal.If you feel that gentle push, that stirring in your spirit right now, if your heart is saying yes, Ralph, I want to invite you to pray this simple prayer right now from the deepest part of your heart. You don't have to be anywhere. Just pray this right now. Just say this out loud.Dear Heavenly Father, I know I'm a sinner and I just really need your forgiveness. Lord, I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is your son.And I do believe that he died on the cross for my sins and that you powerfully raised him from the dead. And Lord, right now I confess my sins to you right now. And I humbly ask that you come into my life and be my Savior. And I give you my life today.I give it to you completely. And I choose to follow you, Jesus, as my Lord and savior starting now and continuing on forever.And Lord, I just thank you for your amazing love and for the precious gift of eternal life. And I just pray these words in Jesus name. Amen. Listen, if you prayed that prayer, maybe you're just thinking about it like I'm not quite there yet.Ralph, please know this, friend. Heaven is celebrating your decision right now. There are all kinds of parties going on in heaven that another soul has been won to Christ.You're now a love child of God and your real wealth, let me tell you right now, your real wealth is safe with him forever. Nobody can ever take that away from you. And I just want to encourage you to share this decision with.Maybe you've got a Christian friend or maybe you know a Christian pastor or you can reach out to us at Ask Ralph Media. We'd love to hear from you. I'd love to help you figure out what your next step is. You can go right to check truth unveiledwithRalph.com/decision.Again, that's truth unveilwithRalph.com/decision. I want to encourage, I want to help you find a good Bible believing church home because that's super important for you to grow in Christ.I just want to thank you for hanging out with me today on Truth Unveiled with Ralph and I just want to encourage you. May God richly bless you, my dear friend, as you live for him in every part of your life, finding peace and how he takes care of you in Him.And before I close, I want to encourage you to share this show.If you're finding wisdom and value in what I share each week, I would love for you to share it with others so they too can find answers to counter the culture of today and find a lasting relationship with Christ. Just point them to our website. Again, that's at truthunveiledwithRalph.com and I just want to encourage you right now.Join me next week as we keep unveiling God's truth in a world full of questions. We're living in a world of questions. So until then, I just want to encourage you one more time.We walk in faith, learn in wisdom, and live confident in grace. God bless you. You have a wonderful and peaceful day and seek after the joy that only Jesus can give you. Have a great.