Read Ecclesiastes 11:8

 Happiness is for today. Joy is available now. We are not to put it on hold. 

Happiness isn't something that will secretly open up to us when we turn 55 or when we reach some goal or find the right marriage partner. Happiness is for now. It is inseparably linked to the living Lord.

A catechism in the Presbyterian church begins with the question, "What is the chief end of man?" 

The answer to that question is familiar to many: "The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever." Not just serve Him, not just obey Him, not just sacrifice to Him, not simply commit ourselves to Him, but enjoy Him—"laugh through life with Him." Smile in His presence. So much more is included in enjoying Him forever than most would ever believe. 

Happiness is to pervade all the years of our life. 

We don't have to wait until we reach some magical age when we are allowed to crack open the door and slip silently into the realm of happiness. It's there for us to enjoy throughout our days.

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.