Max Lucado - The Gift of Unhappiness
Summary:
The preacher teaches that our unhappiness in this world is actually a gift from God because it creates a deep longing for heaven, keeping us from settling for temporary earthly satisfaction. Drawing on John 3:16's promise of eternal life, 1 Peter 2:11's description of believers as foreigners here, and Augustine’s famous line about our restless hearts, he argues we’re like fish out of water—not made for this beach but for the ocean of eternity. The key takeaway is to embrace this dissatisfaction as God’s way of holding our attention until we’re home with Him forever.
Opening Blessing and Invitation
If you can stay around for a few moments to talk about the gift of unhappiness, I’d love for you to do so. Did you know that God has designed you for eternal life? For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life?
Expanding Our Eternal Perspective
You know, with God’s help, we can expand our view of ourselves and understand that we will receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. I think this message helps. Maybe you’re really happy today; if so, God bless you. This little five-minute message on the gift of unhappiness may not fit where you are, and so if you don’t want to stick around, that’s really fine. Could you let us know how to pray for you before you slip out? But if you can relate to the theme of unhappiness, please stay. Not only do I have a word for you, but I’d also like to pray for you if you’d allow me to do so.
Describing Our Current Struggles
I think three words—weary, wounded, and worried—describe our day. We’re weary, weary from the pandemic and the stress. We’re wounded, wounded from relationships, from racism, from rejection. And we’re worried; we’re worried about health, we’re worried about jobs, we’re worried about the future. We are, in a word, unhappy, and we’re just unhappy.
Unhappiness as a Gift
I wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to hear the message of your unhappiness. You see, unhappiness on earth cultivates a hunger for heaven. By gracing us with this deep dissatisfaction, God holds our attention. The only tragedy, really, is to be satisfied prematurely, to settle for earth, to settle for this life, to be content in this strange land, to use Old Testament terminology—to intermarry with the Babylonians and forget Jerusalem.
Not at Home Here
Folks, we’re not happy here because we’re not at home here. We’re not happy here because we are not supposed to be happy here. We’re like foreigners and strangers, as the Scripture says in this world (1 Peter 2:11). You know, if you were to take a fish and place that fish on the beach, you would watch his gills gasp, you would watch his scales dry, and you would ask, «Is he happy?» No.
The Fish Illustration
How do you make him happy? How do you make him happy? Do you cover him with a mountain of cash? Do you get him a beach chair and sunglasses? Do you bring him a play fish magazine and a martini? Do you wardrobe him in double-breasted fins and people-skinned shoes? Of course not. Of course not. How do you make him happy? Well, you know the answer to that: you put him back in his element. You put him back in the ocean; you put him back in the water. He’ll never be happy on the beach simply because he was not made for the beach.
Made for Eternity
He wasn’t. Friend, you’ll never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for this version of earth. You’ll have your moments, and I pray you have millions of them. You’ll have your moments of joy, you’ll catch glimpses of light, and you’ll know moments—even days—of sheer happiness and peace. But friend, what I’m saying is they don’t compare with the happiness that lies ahead; they just don’t compare.
Augustine’s Wisdom
Remember the words of Augustine: «Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.» Therefore, rest on earth is really a false rest. Be careful; be aware of those who urge you to find complete happiness here. You won’t find it. Guard against the false physicians who promise that joy is only a diet away, a marriage away, a job transfer away, a possession or purchase away.
Warning from Jeremiah
Jeremiah, the prophet, denounced people like this. He said they try to heal my people’s serious injuries as if they were small wounds. They said, «It’s all right, it’s all right, ” but really, it’s not all right (Jeremiah 6:14). And friend, it won’t be right until we get home; it really won’t.
Moments of Joy as Glimpses
Again, we’re going to have our moments. We’re going to have our moments. I hope you have a bunch: the newborn on the breast, the bride on the arm, the sunshine on the back, the song in your heart. Yet even these moments are simply slivers of light breaking through heaven’s window—God flirting with us, tantalizing us, romancing us, activating within us a longing for a life in which these moments will never end, in which we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, I want to pray for the people that have become a community of hearts as we’ve weathered this pandemic, the economic downturn, the ugly sin of racism, and the struggles—the stress over the last weeks and months. Many of us have weathered it together through this simple message. Could I pray for them? Could I stand, O Heavenly Father, between them and You, and could I beg You, beseech You, to pour out a blessing of wisdom upon them?
Prayer for Wisdom and Perspective
Wisdom, yes; take pain, yes; take problems, but most of all, Father, just give wisdom. Help us to have the right perspective on life. You shot straight with us from the get-go. You never said this life would have no problems; You always said You’d use the problems to strengthen our hearts. Do so, Heavenly Father, and please speed the day that You come for us. Through Christ, I pray. God bless you, folks. Amen.