Happiness—we all want it, strive for it, and sometimes do crazy things to get it. We even sing songs about it…you know, ”Don’t worry….be happy,” and “Because I’m happy…Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth,” just to mention two enormously popular ones.
In last Thursday’s blog, we looked at the ingredients the world says goes into the recipe for. Today, let’s take a look at what the Bible says are the ingredients in God’s happiness “souffle.”
Make God the Center
Romans 8:28 gives us a great hint. It says, “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” This means the advantage God has is that He can bring joy and happiness to His children no matter what the ingredients are. He does this by not putting the focus on the ingredients but rather on Him. And not just on Him, but by completely centering everything around Him. Get ready for happiness by re-centering everything on God because, as Ecclesiastes 2:26 says, “To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom and knowledge and happiness.”
Our Declaration of Independence guarantees us the right to pursue happiness. Yet, as wonderful as that sounds, politically, it’s disastrous. In reality, happiness is an elusive butterfly—the more you chase it, the quicker it flies away.
The only way to find real life is to let it go, to die to self, to seek first the kingdom of God, whereby all you ever longed for will be added to you (this according to Matthew 6:33). It’s flipping the script on the secular recipe for happiness. God says to seek Him first, and then all these things that are added will be added right and properly.
Hoping in God
The next thing in the recipe for God’s happiness is hoping in God. “The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to absolutely nothing” (Proverbs 10:28). So, we should hope for happiness. It’s thrown in for the Christian, if not in this life, definitely in the next. This verse tells us essentially that hoping in the Lord is a better ingredient to happiness.
We know that the most potent force on the planet, from the verses we read in last Thursday’s blog, is meekness. But did you know that Jesus agreed? He said, “Happy are the meek, for they’re the ones who will inherit the earth.” This is talking about the one who turns his cheek when he’s been hit and doesn’t retaliate, the one who walks an EXTRA MILE when he’s commanded to walk only one, the one who throws in the shirt off his back when he’s asked only for his jacket. This is the one who’s in control of the situation.
This is so upside down for the world. The strong one is the one who doesn’t always push back to exalt themselves. They don’t need to. Their confidence is in the Lord and His Word.
Delight Yourself in God
Their confidence isn’t only in the Lord, and not just their hope, but also their delight—the next ingredient in God’s recipe for happiness. Scripture says. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Well, that sounds a lot like happiness, but what came first? Delighting in the Lord. (That’s Psalm 37:4.)
Focusing on God and Worshipping God
The next ingredient after delighting in Him is focusing on Him. Psalm 16:8-9a says, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad (and what’s another word for glad? Happy!), and my tongue rejoices.” So, how do we focus? We focus by worshiping God, which is another key ingredient.
What is God’s Main Priority for Us?
So, what then is God’s main priority for us? I mean, what in the world is He doing with us in this fallen world? There are many things in this fallen world that don’t go our way. And a lot of it hurts. Sometimes the hurt isn’t even anything we can put our finger on. It’s just there, weighing us down and hanging in the air around us. It’s a shadow or a darkness buried deep inside of us.
If you believe in the biblical God—which is to say, the one Creator Who is sovereign over everything—somehow, your version of His take on happiness has to accommodate for the harsh realities in this fallen world, like the hurt, loneliness, sickness, death, and all the rest as a result of the fall. The existence of these things is why so many people reject the idea of God wholesale. They don’t see how One who is all-loving and all-controlling could even allow such things like pain and hardship in the world. They conclude He’s either not all-loving, or maybe He’s just not all-controlling. And that makes sense if God’s main priority for you is to be happy.
I’m going to share something, and then I want you to answer in your heart whether you believe God’s number one priority is for us to discover all these things I’ve share about in this blog and last Thursday’s blog.
All these things that we’ve discussed about that the world says you have to chase in order to lay hold of the ultimate prize called happiness, are directly contradicted in scriptures, like Psalm 144:15, that says, “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” Also, when God is the center of your life, you’ll have the courage, boldness, and strength to take anything this world throws at you with joy. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord becomes your strength.” Can you imagine that? So, you know what? Happiness must not be God’s main priority for us.
It just makes sense that if happiness was the goal, life would simply consist of one pleasure after another. But, but it’s obviously not.
So, what then is God’s main priority for us? The answer is all over the Bible. God’s goal for us is not happiness. No. It’s holiness. And the good news is that holiness does not exclude happiness.
God wants something better for you than for you to just be happy. It’s a three-letter word called joy. Get this: Happiness is always connected to happenings. If something that’s happening in your life is good, you’re happy. If everything that’s happening is miserable, well then, you’re not happy. But joy for the Christ-follower is more of a constant.
God wants joy over happiness for you, and that only comes by putting Him at the center of your whole life. If you’re ready for God’s unspeakable joy, take that step of making God the center of your life, and use His ingredients above in your recipe for happiness.
Until next time, I invite you to join us at The Summit—online or in-person—every Sunday morning at 9am & 11am MDT, where you’ll find all the ingredients for God’s version of happy. And be sure to join us during this Holy Week for Good Friday, April 2, at 7pm MDT, as well as for our Easter worship experiences at our regular times. These are going to be special times in the Lord.
Blessings,
~Pastor Rob
aka, P-Ro