But Doesn't God Want Me To Be Happy?

                       I have heard similar questions to this and have even pondered a certain version of this in my own life. Although mine was pointed in a slightly different direction, when I was a very young Christian or maybe not even a Christian yet, my question was more like…”Why doesn’t God want me to be happy?” Frankly those were about the only times that I really thought about God at all. It was a challenging time in my life, mostly due to my own cause. My children seemed out of control and unmanageable, my wife would hardly ever agree with any of my decisions, we were spiraling into a pit of debt financially and I was a basket case and just wanted to give up. The truth in all that was that my kids just needed a godly father, my wife needed a godly husband that she could agree with, I needed to stop blowing my money on foolish spending and I needed to spend more time working on my relationship with Christ. But that is not my point for today. My point that I am trying to make is that I was causing this big chaos in my life in all these areas and then blaming God for not making me happy.

          There are literally hundreds of references in the Bible about joy and I have talked about some of them before in the past. But this question of does God want me to be happy is important. Why, because if I believe that God wants me to be happy and I am not happy then somehow God has failed, or God is not real, or maybe God is punishing me or God doesn’t love me. I could go on and on of how one simple question improperly answered can have a devastating effect on your perception of who God is and what God’s purpose is.

          If I went around the room and asked each one of you what would make you happy, most every one of you would answer the question differently. Maybe someone would say if God would take away the pain in my leg, someone might say they would be happy if their kids came to visit, someone might be happy if the nurse treated them better or if the meals were better. Tony would probably be happy if the Bucs won their game today, or if they won the super bowl that would make Tony really happy. Well, if God wants Tony to be happy then the Bucs should win the super bowl. But what if my favorite team was the opposing team and it would make me happy if they won? If God wants me to be happy then my team should win the super bowl. Does it become a battle between Tony and I of who is more spiritual or who has more faith or more favor from God. Of course not.

 

          But there are so many verses that talk about joy there must be something to a Christian being joyful. I have seen verses on refrigerators reminding people to be joyful. Verses like…

 

Psa 16:11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

This is repeated by Peter in Acts…

 

Act 2:25  For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

Act 2:26  therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.

Act 2:27  For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

Act 2:28  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'

 

          As I look in my own life and in the lives of the people that I have been blessed to minister to, I find that a large part of our problems are because we are deceived. We don’t know the truth and we believe lies. Many of us are deceived into believing that true joy is my football team winning the super bowl. You can be happy about your football team winning the super bowl but if you get depressed and walk around for the next two weeks with your head hung low acting like Eeyore then you are headed for destruction. There are people who commit suicide because a team lost a game. I am not just picking on sports. Some people give up because of their jobs or because they owe too much money or their kids have done something bad. Those people were deceived by the lie that their joy comes from those circumstances. We have become deceived to think that happiness and joy are the same thing. It is possible to have both but joy is not based on worldly circumstances it is based on my position in Christ. Any other way is a self-centered gospel.

          Look at that verse in Psalm 16 again. In His presence is where the joy is.

Let’s back up and look at a little more of that Psalm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psa 16:5  The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

Psa 16:6  The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Psa 16:7  I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

Psa 16:8  I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Psa 16:9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

Psa 16:10  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Psa 16:11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

          David was not dwelling on his circumstances; He was dwelling on the Lord. In verse 8 it says he has set the Lord before him and that is why his heart is glad. All of the scriptures that I found regarding joy were all contingent on our position in the Lord.

 

 1Ch 16:27  Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.

 

 

                      I want to take a few more minutes with David…

 

Psa 43:1  Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!

Psa 43:2  For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Psa 43:3  Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

Psa 43:4  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Psa 43:5  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

 

                   David is being chased and people are wanting to kill him and yes it is difficult and it is okay to say Lord, I don’t understand why this is happening. But don’t go into mourning pray that you would be enlightened by the truth. Which is, as it says in verse 4, God is my exceeding joy. Regardless of my circumstances God is my joy and he is constant. Therefore my joy does not change even though my circumstances do. Joy is not contingent on your feelings. You can be sad and joyful at the same time.

          Consider that joy is one of the fruits of the spirit and let’s look at the others.

 

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Gal 5:23  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

          The fruits of the spirit are gifts from God to sanctify us. How and why does joy make it into this list if it is something that depends on my circumstances? If you are in Christ then the Holy Spirit dwells in you and gives you these gifts or abilities. You now have a choice of believing that or not. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love the unlovable, have joy in bad circumstances, to have peace in times of turmoil, patience in times of trouble, kindness to those who are mean, goodness to those who are bad, faithfulness to the unfaithful, gentleness to the rough, and self-control in times of testing.

          All of this is only if you are in Christ.

 

Joh 15:1  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Joh 15:3  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Joh 15:6  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Joh 15:7  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Joh 15:8  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Joh 15:9  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

Joh 15:10  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

Joh 15:11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

 

     The truth of the question…

          “Doesn’t God want me to be happy?

     Is yes he does. God does want you to be happy, content and satisfied in Christ. In who you are in Christ and in your promised inheritance.

 

As we are sanctified we mature and what makes us happy will begin to change. The things that made me happy ten years ago don’t necessarily make me happy today. I needed to reform my way of thinking, start believing the truth and now I can have joy in harder circumstances. Have I made it to a point where nothing will ever affect my joy? No. But I am much closer and the roller coaster is much safer and a lot less scary.

If we change what makes us happy to line up with the word of God then we can have joy and happiness and isn’t that what we would all want, if we are being truthful.