“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
(John 15:11)
Did you know that God wants us to be happy?
The Bible is full of Scriptures which confirm that God wants us to be full of joy and happiness.
• Psalm 40:16 reads, “But may all who seek you [God] rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, The LORD be exalted!"
• Psalm 105:3 reads, “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.”
• And, don’t forget Matthew 25:21, “His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’”
There can be no doubt that God wants us to be happy and is pleased when we are happy. Christians are to be a joyful people.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.”
When I think of how blessed we are to live in this land and all of the abundant freedoms we enjoy, it is difficult to understand why so many people are unhappy. The majority of Americans, and among them some Christians, cannot truly say, “I am happy!” In fact, according to the book, Are You Happy?, by Dennis Wholey, only 20 percent of Americans are happy.
So how is it that the majority of citizens in one of the most blessed nations on earth are unhappy? How can it be that some of the most religious and spiritually blessed people in the world are professing their own unhappiness? What possible explanations can be found for all this unhappiness, especially when the Bible is full of Scriptures that speak of God’s desire for our happiness and which provide guidelines that will lead us to real happiness?
Abraham Lincoln observed that, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be,” and centuries before Lincoln, the Roman Emperor Marcus Antonius said, “No man is happy who does not think himself so.”
When it comes down to it, the unhappiness of Americans and Christians in particular, is a result of not having a proper attitude toward the people, things, and circumstances which we encounter every day. The Scriptures indicate that this happiness which we all seek is found only by properly ordering our lives in relation to God and His will.
Let’s develop this idea more by considering four specific principles that govern happiness.
• Happiness cannot be found in having everything you desire.
• Happiness cannot be found by trying to be someone different than we are.
• Happiness cannot be found on the other side of the fence.
• Happiness cannot be found by disobeying God.
