Does God want us to be happy?

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Does God want us to be happy? Growing up, every time somebody broke up with me or I didn't get what I wanted, I remember getting so upset and just asking God, "Don't you want me to be happy?" So, it got me thinking and I was looking it up. Did you know that the word happy or happiness appears about 30 times in the Bible, but the word joy appears in various forms over 300 times in the Bible. Why? Well, if you dig into it, the word happy is temporary, based on circumstance, whereas joy, regardless of what's happening in the world or in my life, I can still experience joy. So, through that lens, does God want us to be happy or does he want us to be joyful? And what does joy actually look like? Well, in the Bible, there's this prophecy that talks about one day after Jesus comes, which has already happened, it says, "Then young women will dance and be glad. Young men and old as well, I will turn their mourning into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow." So, instead of dwelling in sadness, God says he can replace it with joy. But, how do we get that joy? Thankfully, the Bible has the answer to that. It says, "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." This is in the section where it talks about doing life with the Holy Spirit, which as a reminder, God sends us the Holy Spirit after we make the decision to believe in God, that he came down in human form as Jesus, and even though he was perfect and did no wrong, died for our mistakes, then rose again 3 days later, proving how much God loves us. And when we truly believe that in faith, that is when God sent the Holy Spirit into our life. As a result, we have access to this joy. Life's not going to be perfect. We're still going to crave some of the things that aren't good for us. For example, even if I'm on a diet cutting out sugar, I'm still going to want that candy. But, as I say no more and more, I experience so many other benefits that come from it because I didn't give in to the craving. So, as we obey the words of the Bible, the words of God, and listen to the Holy Spirit when it's saying, "Yes, do this. Don't do that." The result of that, according to the Bible, is joy. In fact, Jesus' brother said this in the Bible, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. By denying the thing that's bad for me now, I'm believing that I will become healthier and get stronger in my resistance to that stuff. So, let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Now, notice here what James did not say. He did not say feel pure joy. He said consider it pure joy, meaning it is tied to a decision, not to a circumstance. Because the Holy Spirit, we can decide to experience joy at any time. In fact, one of the main communicators about Jesus in the Bible shares a life hack and says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstance. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all this through him, Jesus, who gives me strength." We get joy by walking through life with Jesus, following God's will, God's way. Does God want us to be happy? Forget about that. God wants us to choose joy. Let us know how we can be praying for each other today. God bless you, friends.