God Is Happiness

When we think of happiness in our culture it is when all is going well. However, most of us have lives where something is not going well. We base our choice to be happy on what is happening around us.

Happiness is far more than this. A few synonyms are contentment, satisfaction, cheerfulness, joy, glee, delight and well-being. I would say it takes all of these synonyms to truly understand God’s happiness.

Psalms 146:5 NLT

But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.

Some versions have joyful instead of happy. Despite everything going on in life that is not making me feel content, I can still have a joy deep inside that nothing can take away. True Christians exemplify this inner joy because they place their faith in the LORD their God. It was the joy I saw in the true Christians I met and got to know that originally led me to God.

I like that God wants us to interact with Him in a full relationship that should surpass anything we can manage on earth. He is the source of everything and this includes the Law He made to help us understand right from wrong so we can learn how He intended us to live.

Proverbs 29:18 NLT

When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is happy.

When we run wild from one thing to the next we will not find contentment. We will feel restless without a steady place to be. We should have God as our rock so we have an anchor in the stormy times that want to take our peace away.  Paul has this solid foundation and close relationship with God figured out.

Philippians 4:11 NLT

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little.

Even when he had little and got thrown into prison for following Christ, he knew how to get along happily. In other words, he had contentment in life no matter what happened. I’ve found this with Christ even if I do have days where God has to point things out so don’t whine about life. Most times there is nothing we can do to change our circumstances other than changing our perspective of them. It takes time, but learning to see things the way God does makes for far better days.

The following are a couple more verses to meditate upon to help you understand God’s joy better.

Psalms 30:5 NLT

His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning.

Night represents time without God. Morning comes when we renew our relationship with God.

In Nehemiah 8:10 NLT Nehemiah told the people, “Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

I especially love this one because the joy of the Lord is my strength. Without it, I lose direction and become discontent and sad like the people Nehemiah talked to upon realizing they had not properly followed God and His Law. As soon as we learn where we went wrong, we should repent and if we haven’t already, accept Christ as our Savior and Lord. Then all this joy can be yours and you’ll have the hope and strength to endure anything with contentment.