All of us are searching for true happiness and fulfillment that lasts and that doesn't last for a moment and suddenly passes away. I want to be a happy man. In essence, whenever we want to be happy, we are living out a kind of vision or outlook on life that we think will enable us to be happy.

Well, there is a certain vision of life that God has been teaching me lately that I think will prove to be beneficial to you. In what follows, I will highlight five specific areas that really encapsulate what I take the Christian life to be essentially about. You may not have chosen the same words I will use, but the ideas should be roughly the same.

I live for Christ and His Kingdom, virtue or good character, wisdom, bodily care, and close meaningful relationships. Investing my time in those areas is what will create a life that is truly and ultimately fulfilling, happy, and meaningful.

I will be honest and say that good days are not as plentiful as bad days, unfortunately. I wish most of my days were good, but they are not. One obvious reason why I might have a bad day might be related to sin. But I still might have a bad day if I am living out the wrong understanding of what makes a good day vs. a bad day.

Living for Christ and His Kingdom, virtue or good character, wisdom, bodily care, and close meaningful relationships are what make a good moment, a good day, and a good life. What is centrally important here is not merely how I can make myself feel good. I am not saying that wanting to feel good is a bad thing in itself.

However, I have come to realize through God's guidance that I have oftentimes directly tried to make myself feel good and see if I am motivated to do anything or if I want to do something important, as opposed to focusing on what good things I can do and allowing good feelings to be a byproduct.

Some of you might say that my problem was that I was too self-focused. I agree with the underlying truth, but that word has become extremely vague and unclear in numerous conversations I have had with people. One possible way to illustrate what I am saying is that I was focusing on something that I had less control over than what I had more control over.

I have less control over how I can make myself feel good than the kinds of good things I can do in the world. We don't have an on and off switch for our feelings. Because of that, we don't have the power to directly will our emotions to be one way or the other. If I wake up one morning and don't feel like getting out of bed, I might do one of two things. I might lay in bed and wait until I "feel" like getting out of bed before I get out of bed.

If I do that, I might be waiting for a long time because I don't have the ability to make myself feel a certain way on the spot. However, I could just get out of bed and accomplish what I need to do and then feel the sense of accomplishment I was looking for while lying in bed.

That might sound like a very simplistic example, but I think that can spill over into other areas of life. With that being said, I have become less focused on what emotional experiences I can deliberately go out of my way to create for myself throughout the day and am starting to become more focused on living out that vision of life that God has been teaching me.

Being directly focused on creating positive emotional experiences as the end goal of your day or life as opposed to letting them become a nice byproduct of a life devoted to good character and wisdom can cause you to become self-absorbed and less aware of others and their needs. In case you didn't notice, all five of those things I highlighted have at least one thing in common: giving of yourself.

That kind of lifestyle is not passive but is about being actively engaged in life. With that being said, I want to throw out some questions that – while they are primarily directed to me – can inform you on what counts as a good day when you are asking yourself, "Have I had a good day?" or "How can I have a good day?"

Have I reflected over a particular passage in the Bible (in my case, it's 2 Peter 1:3-11)?

Have I prayed for my family, closest friends, my wellbeing, etc?

Have I journaled lately?

Have I called or done FaceTime with my family?

Have I hung out with my closest friends?

Have I walked in nature to just absorb the beauty and magnitude of God's creation?

Have I recorded any insights from Scripture or my devotional?

Have I listened well when others speak?

Have I been compassionate to those I know are hurting?

Have I managed my time and money wisely today?

Have I taken care of my body?

Happiness and fulfillment are about living life as God designed you to function. When you live in line with how you were made to function, you will find true joy and fulfillment. Thus, it is impossible for you as a child of God to find the joy and fulfillment you long for without pursuing Christ and His Kingdom, virtue, wisdom, bodily care, and close meaningful relationships.

See also: Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 2:6-10.