Do you want to be happy? I think we all do. Too often people think that God would not want them to be happy. Like God’s goal would be to make you unhappy. That doesn’t ring true, does it? Quite the opposite is true in fact. God wants you to be happy with him.

You grant him blessings forever;
    you make him happy
        with the joy of your presence.
(Psalm 21:6, CEB)

With the words of Charles Spurgeon “Man was not originally made to mourn; he was made to rejoice. The Garden of Eden was his place of happy abode, and as long as he continued in obedience to God, nothing grew in that Garden that could cause him sorrow.” We were created happy. But that was not enough for us. We wanted to be God ourselves. Hence, we had to leave the land of happiness and peace with God was history.

God wants you to be happy

God doesn’t give us orders and regulations to make us unhappy. His goal is to keep us away from harmful things and habits. Obedience might not feel fun but Jesus does not want us miserable. That’s the devil’s job. He does not want you happy, he wants you as miserable as he is. Jesus’ goal is to save you from your sins that separate you from God.

I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination!
(Psalm 16:9-10, MSG)

Only when we are reunited with God, we can be truly happy again. Passing entertainment or frivolous activities do not cut it. John Flavel writes “Christ [is] the very essence of all delights and pleasures, the very soul and substance of them. As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean . . . so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet.”

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
    you get a fresh start,
    your slate’s wiped clean.
(Psalm 32:1, MSG)

Jesus is the source of our happiness

The only way to lasting happiness is Jesus. When we abide in him we are happy regardless of our circumstances. It takes some practice to learn to cast our cares on Jesus but when we master that skill we are truly happy. Because life is not about owning things or being entertained. Life is about loving God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. It’s about serving others and following Jesus. Life is about finding everlasting happiness in Jesus and his plan for us.

Those who put their trust in the Lord,
    who pay no attention to the proud
    or to those who follow lies,
    are truly happy!
(Psalm 40:4, CEB)

 

Gracious God,
Forgive us for looking for happiness in wrong places
and forgive us for not trusting you to want happiness for us.
Because you do! You’ve always have wanted only good things for us.
Fill us with your loving Spirit.
Enable us to love you above everything and others like ourselves.
Make us shine happiness for your glory.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Are you happy?

Be blessed my fellow pilgrim as you enjoy life with God!

Photo by Les Jay on Unsplash, design by Mari-Anna Stålnacke. I am linking up with Unite the Bloggersphere and #tellhisstory.