Why Is It So Hard to Be Happy?

FORTHCOMING TITLE, ETA AUGUST 2026

A Concise Look at Happiness from a Christian Perspective 

Happiness feels more elusive than ever. With an endless stream of self-help books and motivational content available at our fingertips, we’re encouraged to look inward for the answers. But all too often, this relentless focus on ourselves only leaves us feeling emptier than when we started. Why does happiness feel so hard to grasp?

In this brief booklet, Jen Oshman examines the history, sociology, and data of happiness from a Christian perspective. She discusses our culture’s competing visions and definitions of happiness, investigates why happiness is so elusive, and offers practical alternatives to the unsatisfactory lies of the world. This booklet invites readers to explore happiness as an outcome of a relationship with our Creator, Jesus Christ. In him there is a treasure waiting to be discovered—a richer, fuller way to live.

• Countercultural: Provides life-giving and practical alternatives to the unsatisfactory lies the world tells us about how to gain happiness
• Christian Perspective: Helps both believers and non-believers understand happiness as a byproduct of their relationship with Jesus Christ
• Short, Accessible Format: A concise biblical exploration of the history, sociology, and data of happiness
• Part of the TGC Hard Questions Series: Equips readers with answers to difficult questions facing today’s church

64 pages

“Our quest to soothe our unhappiness sends us in a thousand different directions that ultimately disappoint. In this short book, Jen Oshman helps us see why the pursuit of happiness in and of itself will never give us what we yearn for. If we chase the offerings of this life to grab hold of happiness, our hearts will always be empty. But if we spend our lives running after Jesus, joy will never let us go.”
Glenna Marshall, author, Everyday Faithfulness; Memorizing Scripture; and Known and Loved