Get Happy: Break the Pattern That's Breaking Youنموونە

Where Have All the Happy People Gone?

We live surrounded by things meant to make life better: endless choices, digital connection, and instant delivery of almost anything. Yet surveys show anxiety, loneliness, and dissatisfaction at historic highs. Social media scrolls present smiling faces, but many of us feel empty inside. The human search for happiness is not new, only more visible.

King Solomon once tried every source of pleasure and success available to him. He wrote:

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure… yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done… everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” – Ecclesiastes 2:10–11 NIV

That phrase, “chasing after the wind,” captures modern life too. We run harder but hold nothing lasting.

God diagnoses the problem with striking clarity:

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” – Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

In ancient Israel, a cistern was a man-made pit lined with plaster to collect and store rainwater. It was never as fresh or reliable as a spring; water could stagnate or leak away if the plaster cracked.

God uses this picture to show how we often trade His spring of living water for our own fragile substitutes. We work hard to carve out happiness on our terms, but our “cisterns” – such as career titles, consumer goods, approval, travel – can’t hold what we need. The more we chase, the more restless we become.

This is exactly what the apostle Paul warned against when he wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world” in Romans 12. Modern life offers new ways to build our own cisterns, but the pattern behind them is the same – and it always leaves us thirsty.

What makes this harder today is speed and comparison. In earlier times, dissatisfaction grew slowly; now, it’s fueled by the endless stream of other people’s curated lives. Every scroll whispers: They are happier. You’re behind. It’s no wonder contentment feels elusive.

Yet God’s invitation is steady. He offers Himself as the living water that never runs dry. Jesus later said:

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” –John 4:14 NIV

The first step toward real joy is honest recognition. Where have you looked for happiness that keeps failing? If you feel dry, it is not because joy is impossible but because you may be drinking from broken cisterns.

This devotional begins the journey of seeing those broken patterns clearly. There’s far more to uncover about how the world shapes your mind and how you can break free; but awareness is where change starts.

Let your journey begin there. You don’t need to fix everything today; simply start by noticing where you have been running and whether those paths lead to life or disappointment.

Take Time to Reflect

1. What have you been chasing lately, hoping it would bring deep satisfaction?
2. When you slow down, where do you sense emptiness or thirst inside?
3. How open are you to looking for joy in a different, deeper place?