The Jungfrau. Photo taken near a farm outside Grindelwald, Switzerland, in June 1980. We had taken the trip with heavy cloud cover until this picture was taken. It is as if God reached down with His holy light, so that we could actually see the Swiss Alps.

January 6, 2026 / 0 comments

Lasting Happiness and Peace

Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
    Let the light of your face shine on us.
Fill my heart with joy
    when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety.

  • Psalm 4:6-8

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
    the Lord blesses his people with peace.

  • Psalm 29:10-11

You set aside all your wrath
    and turned from your fierce anger.
Restore us again, God our Savior,
    and put away your displeasure toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

  • Psalm 85:3-7

Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

  • Psalm 37:4

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

  • 2 Thessalonians 3:16

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

  • 1 Timothy 6:10

“ ‘… So long as we are given up to the throng of desires with its constant hopes and fears … We never obtain lasting happiness or peace.’ – Arthur Schopenhauer”

  • Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”

  • C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a German philosopher.  I have avoided three philosophers in the past, after an initial article: Georges Berkeley, David Hume, and Arthur Schopenhauer.  Some of their views are difficult to understand.  But Schopenhauer was jealous of the other professors, namely Georg Hegel.  Hegel, a few years older and more established, had huge classes, and Schopenhauer had a few loyal followers.  This led Schopenhauer to say that he was a true philosopher while the others, primarily Hegel, were “Mere Windbags.”

But his quote above is something that I agree with.

First Timothy 6:10 speaks of the love of money being the root of all kinds of evil, but it is more than money.  When we do not desire God or we desire the things of this world more than God, whether we do evil things in order to gain our desires or not, peace and happiness will either be fleeting or non-existent.

We were created to worship and glorify God.  God is everlasting.  All the things of this world are temporary.  Thus, settling on earthly things might give us some happiness, but the happiness is temporary.  And as for the peace, we cannot truly enjoy peace apart from God because the temporal nature of anything that seems peaceful increases our anxiety level, for we know it won’t last.  We will always be looking for the next temporary thing that gives us a moment of happiness – a vicious cycle.

Schopenhauer speaks of the constant hopes and desires.  In other words, it is not one hope and one desire.  We know from the onset that achieving the first hope and desire just means the next hope and desire become part of our daily fabric.

A pastor said in the pulpit once that a mountain climber reached a high peak, maybe it was Mount Everest, and the reporter asked what was next.  The climber said that when you reach the top of one mountain you see all the mountains that are beyond that one.  Happiness in this world, without God, is fleeting, and peace never comes.  There is always the next mountain to climb.

But when we want more and more of Jesus, God grants us the desires of our heart – to be more like Jesus.  And being more like Jesus has the benefit of not desiring the things of this world.  It leads to a contentment that brings true happiness and peace that transcends circumstances.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.

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