It’s a common expression in our culture today: “God wants me to be happy.” Maybe a group of friends invites you to a party where you know God would not approve of. Perhaps there is drunkenness involved, course language or some other like practice. You know that it will be a good time, all your friends are going and you think you would have a good time as well. You think to yourself, “Well, doesn’t God want me to be happy?” You knock the idea around in your brain, “If God wants me to be happy, and this party makes me happy, then God must be alright with me going to this party!” And so you attend an activity because it makes you happy and, after all, God is very concerned about your personal happiness.
Is this really the case? Is it a priority of God’s to make you happy? You might be surprised to know that no verse in the Bible ever says that God’s priority is for you to be happy. In other words, God is not all that concerned about your personal happiness. On the contrary, God would not hesitate to make you unhappy if that is what it takes to get your life in order! Consider, Amos (an Old Testament book) chapter 4 starting in verse 6:
“‘I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,’ declares the Lord.”
Here, God is interacting directly with the nation of Israel, trying to persuade them to change their lives and start obeying God again. But look at the means which God uses! He withheld food from their mouths, causing great hunger, in an effort to bring the people back to Himself. From what we see in this passage, God is not all that concerned about these people’s happiness. We keep reading in Amos 4:9:
“’Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,’declares the Lord.”
Here the Lord destroys the people’s gardens and orchards in order to persuade the people to recognize the evil things that they had done. God still does not seem very concerned about their happiness! Amos 4:10:
“‘I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,’ declares the Lord.”
God is much more interested in having the people return to Him than He is interested in the people being happy. I want to suggest an alteration to this whole idea of God wanting us to be happy. God doesn’t want you to be "happy." God wants you. Period.
Jump over to the New Testament for a moment. The third book of the New Testament is Luke, and we want to read from chapter 15. Luke 15:3-7: “Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Think about that sheep for a moment. That sheep might have been having a pretty good time. No one was there to tell him to stop or go, to come or stay. He could roam free! But the shepherd, who represents God, did not want the sheep to be happy. He wanted the sheep. Period. The shepherd knew that there was great danger outside of the sheep-fold. Perhaps a wolf would eat the sheep, maybe the sheep would wall off a ledge (as sheep are prone to do from time to time!). And so the shepherd was willing to sacrifice the sheep’s happiness for the sheep’s well-being. Is God any different today?
In the parable of the lost sheep, where are you? Have you been too concerned about your happiness and not concerned enough about what God wants for your life? Although God wants you to have a good life full of joy on this earth, that is not the reason for your existence. He doesn’t really want you to just be happy in this life. God wants you. Will you let Him take you back to the fold?
If you have any questions or comments, or just want to learn more, feel free to stop by at Athabasca Hall, Heritage Lounge Monday nights at 6:00. Or shoot us an email; we would love to hear from you!
Aaron Johnson
Is this really the case? Is it a priority of God’s to make you happy? You might be surprised to know that no verse in the Bible ever says that God’s priority is for you to be happy. In other words, God is not all that concerned about your personal happiness. On the contrary, God would not hesitate to make you unhappy if that is what it takes to get your life in order! Consider, Amos (an Old Testament book) chapter 4 starting in verse 6:
“‘I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,’ declares the Lord.”
Here, God is interacting directly with the nation of Israel, trying to persuade them to change their lives and start obeying God again. But look at the means which God uses! He withheld food from their mouths, causing great hunger, in an effort to bring the people back to Himself. From what we see in this passage, God is not all that concerned about these people’s happiness. We keep reading in Amos 4:9:
“’Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,’declares the Lord.”
Here the Lord destroys the people’s gardens and orchards in order to persuade the people to recognize the evil things that they had done. God still does not seem very concerned about their happiness! Amos 4:10:
“‘I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,’ declares the Lord.”
God is much more interested in having the people return to Him than He is interested in the people being happy. I want to suggest an alteration to this whole idea of God wanting us to be happy. God doesn’t want you to be "happy." God wants you. Period.
Jump over to the New Testament for a moment. The third book of the New Testament is Luke, and we want to read from chapter 15. Luke 15:3-7: “Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Think about that sheep for a moment. That sheep might have been having a pretty good time. No one was there to tell him to stop or go, to come or stay. He could roam free! But the shepherd, who represents God, did not want the sheep to be happy. He wanted the sheep. Period. The shepherd knew that there was great danger outside of the sheep-fold. Perhaps a wolf would eat the sheep, maybe the sheep would wall off a ledge (as sheep are prone to do from time to time!). And so the shepherd was willing to sacrifice the sheep’s happiness for the sheep’s well-being. Is God any different today?
In the parable of the lost sheep, where are you? Have you been too concerned about your happiness and not concerned enough about what God wants for your life? Although God wants you to have a good life full of joy on this earth, that is not the reason for your existence. He doesn’t really want you to just be happy in this life. God wants you. Will you let Him take you back to the fold?
If you have any questions or comments, or just want to learn more, feel free to stop by at Athabasca Hall, Heritage Lounge Monday nights at 6:00. Or shoot us an email; we would love to hear from you!
Aaron Johnson
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