“Happy single people make happy married people.” I once heard this quote at a conference when I was a student, and ever since, I’ve strived to apply its truth of rejoicing in the here and now. I was single back then, and I still am to this day. But frankly, this principle is true regardless of one’s marital status. 

One of the biggest enemies to joy is the attitude, “I’ll be happy when…” The more we think this way, the more the goalpost moves, causing us to continually look for the next source of happiness, never able to rejoice in the present. When I look back at my life, I’m so grateful that I never let my joy hinge on being married. I would have ended up as a miserable and bitter woman. Who wants that? 

The Apostle Paul wrote a lot about joy. If anyone knew how to be glad in the moment, regardless of the circumstances, he did. Not only did he command us to rejoice at all times, but he added the important detail that it’s God’s will. He also gave us a clue as to how to do it, since frankly, such a joyful attitude doesn’t come naturally for most of us. The key is prayer and thanksgiving.

When I think of God’s will, the command to rejoice is not usually the first thing that comes to mind. And yet, it’s a recurring theme in both the Old and New Testaments. Solomon wrote about satisfaction and happiness as being a gift from God. Paul narrowed the essence of God’s kingdom to righteousness, peace, and… joy. 

God has done all that’s necessary for us to be joyful now, not only in eternity. But it’s our choice to put his provision into practice. An excellent place to start is to banish all thoughts that make our happiness conditional on a future status, event, or relationship. The next step is to focus on the reasons we have to be thankful. I realize that none of this is easy, which is why we need to bathe everything in prayer.