One of the most fascinating things about the Bible (and all the more so about just the Gospels) is the almost complete lack of references to concepts that can be rendered as "happiness" or "contentment." To hear the denominations prate, however, one would think that a state of "happiness" and "contentment" (contrasted with the ostensible inner turmoil of nonbelievers) was the essence of The Christian Life.
The Gospels speak of "joy" (and, as I will hold to be joy's complement, "fear"), not of "happiness" or "contentment." Jesus tells us to be always awake; that is not a posture of happiness or contentment, but rather of fear, occasionally interspersed with rushes of joy, such as when a sentry glimpses the dawn. More importantly, we cannot really plan on any occasion for joy, any more than we can plan on a life without fear.
We can try to grasp what Jesus means, and we can try to grasp what Jesus wants, but we rest happily contented in those endeavors at our soul's peril.
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