Quick. On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you at work? Your score probably depends on how bad traffic was, how many demanding emails are jamming your inbox, and how many stressful deadlines your boss has given you.

Now. How happy are you at home? Probably depends on how bad work was today, how whiny your kids are, and how many things need to be fixed, cleaned, or replaced in your house.

Our happiness is so situational. It swings wildly up and down based on what’s going on in life. So different from Paul, who wrote to the Philippians after 4 years in jail for something he didn’t do, and said, “I rejoice and share my joy with you all” (Philippians 2:17). And just in case they weren’t feeling it, he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

How are we supposed to have that kind of unassailable joy? The kind of happiness that sticks no matter what our situation is like? By holding on to the promises of God.

God’s promise of provision
At some point in our lives, all of us deal with serious loss. You lose someone you love to cancer or disease. You lose a relationship that was really valuable. You lose a dream or a life-goal, as you slowly realize that it will never happen.

God’s promise is this: “Lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10). In other words, if there’s something that would be good for you to have right now, you would have it. “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” God will supply you with everything good. If he’s withholding something from you, that means it wouldn’t be good, at least not for you, at least not right now. God’s promise is to provide. How could you not be happy about that?

God’s promise of companionship
Everyone deals with loneliness sometimes. You just don’t feel like you have any good friends. Maybe you’ve been looking for a husband or a wife and God hasn’t provided one. Or maybe you have a husband or a wife, but for some reason there’s a wall between you. There’s just no intimacy in the relationship, just a deep sense of loneliness.

Here’s the promise of Jesus: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Maybe you say, how is that possible? Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus wants to supply all of the companionship, intimacy, support, and comfort that you feel like you’re missing right now. And he’ll do it through the Holy Spirit inside of you. That’s happiness.

God’s promise of justification
We all worry to some degree about what people think about us. We want to make sure every wrinkle is smoothed, every defect is explained. Sometimes we get blamed for something that was outside our control, and we feel the need to defend. We stew if false accusation goes unchallenged.

God’s promise to you is this: “If God is for us, who can be against us? … Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who can condemn?” (Romans 8:31-34). What can anyone accuse you of? You have the creator of the universe standing behind you. Who cares what people think about you? What they say about you? You already know what God says about you: you’re justified. That’s a promise, and that’s how you stay happy even when life gets terrible.

We’re unhappy because we don’t think we’re getting what we want, need, and deserve. What’s the remedy? To remember that we have so much more than we want, need, and deserve, because we have Christ.