Questions. I love questions. Church workers get asked lots of questions about life, the universe and everything.

I think questions are good. They reveal a heart searching for truth: “Is God real?” “What does He want me to do?” “Does God really love me?”

However, there’s one question that always stumps me, and that is: “Are you happy?”

It’s a common enough question, and a reasonable one. As each year comes to an end, especially in the context of reviewing our career, we ask ourselves whether we’re happy in our jobs.

Aren’t most of us in pursuit of happiness? Most people assume that my answer is a straight: “Yes!” After all, I made the conscious decision to go “full-time”.

I find that I don’t have a ready answer. Not because I hate my job (spoiler: I love it!). But it did help me to start reflecting, and I realised “Are you happy?” was a question I never really had to ask myself once I decided to respond to God’s call.

I’ve had friends say that it’s the same as having a child. “Are you happy?” is not really consideration when making life choices like waking up at 1am, then again at 3am, then at 5am just for good measure; cancelling on your friends because you’ve got a mess on the floor to clean and trying to get out of the house again in one piece just isn’t worth it; having to tell your boss you need the meeting to end at 6pm because that’s when daycare ends. You don’t question.

Happiness, I’ve come to realise, is not something you find by chasing it. At least, not in a way that lasts. I’m also a pastor’s kid, and if you’re not careful, happiness can be defined by what others expect of you, not by what your Creator says.

Like most things, it’s something you experience most fully when you least expect it. When you’re not chasing it. It’s something that you can only get by chasing God.

I remind myself not to miss the woods for the trees. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

So if you ask me, I have the best job in the world. As a fellow colleague once noted, we get a front row seat every day to see what God is doing in our lives, the universe and everything else.

Am I happy? Yes. But happiness is not something you get by chasing it.

Seek His Kingdom and these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Pursue God relentlessly, and the rest will follow. Cliché? Yes, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

So, my turn.

Are you happy?