Happy

Simple

Is it ok to just want to be happy? Often people, even Christians will say or think that all they want is to be happy. However, happiness is not a great enough purpose to actually make you happy. The reality is that if we live simply to be happy we will inevitably end up not being satisfied, fulfilled, or content. Ultimately we will be saying with Solomon that all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 12:8). My point is simply that chasing happiness is the surest route to misery. Joy is the outcome of abiding in the Lord! As believers remain in Christ and fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3-4) through the activity of the Holy Spirit, then true contentment, joy, and even happiness are truly possible.(Romans 14:17)

It is also important to note that God loves His people too much to only desire our happiness. That may sound strange because many well meaning parents will boast that they just want their children to be happy. However, Christians parents ought to want far more for their children than simply happiness. Instead we should desire for our children to grow in holiness and reverence for God so that they will be used for His glory. Truly all people will be for His glory in one way or another but we desire that our children and ourselves would delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4).

Service

Often in an effort to achieve happiness what we will do is seek to live easy and even lazy lives. We will seek comfort and satisfaction from every desire or craving. But the outcome of this kind of resistance free or go with the flow kind of lifestyle is that we will lose our strength as our muscles become atrophied from our lack of diligent effort. To live truly fulfilling lives we need the strength that comes from exercising real effort. We also need the health that comes from practicing genuine restraint. The fruit of the Spirit does include the attributes of patience and self control (Galatians 5:22). The point is that as Christ is formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and as we are conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) we grow in our experience of joy, peace, and hope regardless of our external circumstances.

As a matter of fact it is a great privilege that God would count us faithful and allow us a place of service (1 Timothy 1:12). God does not call us into service to meet some need in Him for as God He is all sufficient in Himself and in need of nothing. And God does not bring us into service simply because of the needs of others for He could certainly meet those needs without us. But instead God brings us into service so that we can get the benefits of giving and serving (Acts 20:35).

Sacrifice

Ultimately, we see even in the life of the Lord Jesus Himself that sacrifice precedes joy. Remember that Jesus was looking to the joy when he voluntarily went to the cross enduring the violence and despising the shame for us. He was set on the culmination of the kingdom for the glory of God (Hebrews 12:2). Even so we are also called to sacrifice, not because God wants to take something away from us, but rather he wants to produce something in us for our good and His glory (1 Peter 1:3-9)!

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