When you think about God, what picture comes to your mind? Do you see a kind, old grandfather in a rocking chair, or do you see a stern, moral policeman, who is just waiting to punish you for making a mistake? The truth about God is much different, and much fuller, than either of those mental portraits.
You can’t restrict God to a one-dimensional being because He has many, many facets. That’s why no one can reduce God to a sound-bite. He is a loving, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, holy God who hates sin. With that in mind, let me talk about another aspect of God that is sometime overlooked. He is also a happy God.
Few of us probably think about God as being very happy, but you may be shocked to learn that the Bible uses words referring to happiness over 2,700 times. Here are some examples.
Paul talks about “…the glorious gospel of the blessed
Peter says the same thing about God: “Blessed [happy] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
Even in the Old Testament, we find that God is a happy God. “… In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11). “… You give them to drink of the river of Your delights” (Psalm 36:8).
Christian pastor A. W. Tozer said, “God is not only… happy in His work of creating and redeeming, but He is also enthusiastic…Somebody is having a good time…painting the sky… causing the birds to sing… Somebody is running the universe.” The Bible exclaims, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Not only is God happy, but Jesus Himself promised that His followers could be happy too: “[Happy] are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Happy] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. [Happy] are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. [Happy] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. [Happy] are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. [Happy] are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. [Happy] are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. [Happy] are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Happy] are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matthew 5:3–11).
Since God is so happy, and since the Bible says that we were made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), then why aren’t more people happy? Think about it! How many happy people do you see around you every day? To be even more direct, “How happy are you?”
Wanting to be happy isn’t wrong. Our problem is that we tend to look for happiness in all the wrong places. In fact, many people think that God is just trying to take away what little happiness they do have.
Here is where we go wrong in our thinking. We don’t realize that the biggest killer of happiness is sin. Sin may give us a temporary feeling of happiness (Hebrews 11:25), but it never leaves us with any lasting pleasure.
Paul included himself when he reminded Christians that, when lives are centered on sin, they aren’t happy: “we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another” (Titus 3:3).
Because we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), how can we find the happiness God wants us to have? Here is the wonderful answer: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) “Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified’” (Psalm 70:4).
God Himself became a human being, Jesus, and took the punishment we deserved. When we turn from following our own way, from doing what we want to do, and cry out to Him, He will forgive us and give us grace to follow Him. When we put our faith in Christ, we will “… exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:11).
God is a happy God and He wants you to be happy, too! “[Happy] is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7). “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how [happy] is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).
Hello Dave,
Wow! This was a very, very good message. I lot of people will be blessed as they read it.