When was the last time you smiled and laughed by yourself?

I'm not talking about when you hear something funny and remember it in your head. I'm talking about when you're by yourself, and for no inexplicable reason, you just smile and laugh to yourself.

That sounds crazy. Well, that is something crazy people do. But it also sounds nice. Why wouldn't you want to laugh and smile to yourself without worry of anybody around you? That seems like something God wants for us. Maybe it seems crazy because our stressful, busy minds don't allow that kind of thing to happen.

I know that I'm someone that loves thinking about the future. It's exciting to dream and think about what's coming. It can also put a lot of focus on the things that are unresolved in my life. I am also someone that invests their best effort into each day. I give all that I can to my job and the things I do in life. This can lead to putting a lot of expectations on myself.

While these qualities aren't inherently bad things, they can definitely turn sour and lead me away from joy if I'm not careful.

If my mind is too focused on loads of self-expectation and thoughts of what is to come, how can I really enjoy just being alive in this moment?

Just recently, to get away from these overbearing mindsets, I went to the movies by myself. I, of course, love movies. And it seems like a strange or sad thing to go do something like that by yourself. But it was actually the opposite of those negative feelings.

I was actually joyful.

Instead of keeping myself busy and just focusing on all the things in my life that weren't resolved, I just enjoyed time by myself with God. And it made me so much happier than a lot of the times when I try and fill my life with busyness and thoughts of the future.

I actually smiled and laughed out loud for no reason. It was weird at first, trust me. Inexplicably, I was just happy to be alive. I relaxed and rested in the knowledge that I exist with God.

My joy was no longer circumstantial, but eternal.

That's when I realized, while there are many people, places and things that can make us happy, our true joy comes from recognizing that we get to exist intimately with God. Nothing matches that intimacy. And it is that intimacy that causes true happiness.

While it seems like a crazy thing to smile and laugh by yourself, you'll never experience true joy until you lean into that intimacy with God. Nothing else delivers.

Go somewhere by yourself with God and let go of your current and future stresses. Accept the unresolved things in your life and stop worrying. Lean into His intimacy and see, just see, if you inexplicably smile and laugh to yourself.

Really, the reason for the smile and laughter isn't inexplicable. It's just the physical reaction to your heart joining into the same rhythm as God's heartbeat.