​Where is Your Happy Place?

The doormat in front of our cozy loft apartment declares “This is our happy place.” My husband and I found the quotation fitting because we’re both homebodies—me especially. I take comfort in the feel, smell, and comfort of home. When I walk through the door after a day of talking to patients and concerned parents at work, a sense of peace settles back into my heart.
 
Lately, between COVID-19 and the election process, our home has felt more like a safe-haven than ever. But even the security of home hasn’t been able to calm my heart lately. Fear of an unknown future creeps into my happy place through our phones, tablets, and computers. It seeps under the cracks and crevices and worms its way into my heart.

​Why do I fear the whirlwind of change, uncertainty, germs, and politics swirling outside my door? 

Because what’s going on in the world affects my home country, which affects my home state, which affects my home town, which affects my home itself. In a sense, my country is my happy place, or at least directly affects it.

Soon after we purchased our “happy place” doormat, I began reading the book Idols of the Heart by Elyse Fitzpatrick. In her book, Fitzpatrick recounted the story of Lot’s wife. I cringed when I reached this part of the book. Ever since I was a child, the imagery of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt has been vivid in my mind—perhaps because I can identify with her heart.
 
God’s messengers warned Lot’s family to leave Sodom because of God’s impending judgment. In my mind, I picture Lot’s wife grasping for various belongings as she helps Lot herd her family out of their home. As they leave the confines of the city, Lot’s wife remembers the warning not to look behind them, but her heart fills with longing for what they are leaving behind, and she turns to gaze upon her home one last time. As her eyes fall on the burning city, her body solidifies into a crusty, lifeless pillar of salt. 

​As a child, this story stuck with me because it seemed gruesome. I couldn’t help imagining what she felt like and if her transformation was instantaneous or if her skin slowly hardened from her feet up like a sci-fi horror scene. Either way, the woman’s punishment always struck me as a bit harsh. She was, after all, following God’s command to leave. Why couldn’t she sneak a peek behind her?

In her book, Fitzpatrick summarizes what the sin of Lot’s wife really was—a sin of idolatry:

“Sometimes, a simple action can speak volumes about character. In this case, a glance revealed a heart. Sodom was where Lot’s wife lived physically, but it was also where her heart resided. She loved it, and her idolatrous heart clung to it because that was where her treasure was. There was something in Sodom that she valued, esteemed, cherished, and loved more than she treasured God.” —Elyse Fitzpatrick

Read a Sample Chapter of Idols of the Heart.
​Download the free Study Guide.

Jesus told us in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The true horror of this scene is rooted in the heart of Lot’s wife. Her treasure was in Sodom. Her home was her happy place, and she allowed herself to become so attached to it that she valued it above God’s direct commands. Her home was her idol.
 
“Well, at least my home isn’t Sodom,” was my initial reaction. But seriously, no matter where I find my happiness, contentment, and security—if it isn’t in God, I am no better than Lot’s wife.

Is your idea of happiness having a comfortable home in a comfortable world? I have to admit, that is what my heart naturally wants. God, however, wants His people to find their happiness, contentment, and comfort, not in this present world, but in the promise of the world to come.
 
We really have a special kind of security as Christians. We can rest assured, that no matter what happens to our earthly home, our heavenly one is going to be more amazing than we can even imagine. We have an established, prepared, and sanctified place to spend our eternity once our earthly home has passed away.

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Isaiah 65:17-19

When our country is divided and torn apart by politics and sickness, don’t gaze back at the charred fragments left behind. God hasn’t called us to forsake our home like Lot’s family had to vacate Sodom, but our hearts still shouldn’t belong to any earthly city or country. God holds us secure. His Kingdom will come. In the end, every earthly kingdom is temporary. Governments rise and fall. God is the one Leader we can rely on forever. He will bring us to our true home.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

If you find your happy place crumbling down around you during this divisive time, that means your treasure is placed inside a decaying world that will one day pass away. God instructs us to store up our treasure in a place that will never fade. Our future home with God in His kingdom is the only happy place that will never crumble.

We have a secure hope in the future that can bring us peace and patience no matter what happens to our earthly home.

How do you keep the fear of an unknown future from creeping into your happy place, and where do you find your happiness, contentment, and security today?