To God be the glory.
Does God want you to be happy?
The answer is yes. God does want you to be happy.
In fact, God wants you to experience a level of happiness that far exceeds
anything you will ever find on your own and in this world.
So many people think of Christianity as something void of everything that's fun in life.
People often think they have to give up the good life to be a Christian.
Yet, the Bible teaches that the real good life can only come if we live God's way.
If we were to ask people of varying cultures, different education levels,
ask men, women, young old, rich, poor, doesn't matter.
If we ask them what is the one thing you want in this life,
we would find that everyone wants the same thing.
They just want to be happy.
Now the problem is people often go in all kinds of directions
trying to pursue what they think will make them happy.
One man might seek wealth and possessions.
He thinks that money and toys are the answer,
that they'll provide some sustained satisfaction, pleasure.
He thinks it's a bigger home, it's a faster car.
Something other than what he currently has, that will make me happy.
Maybe a woman pursues fame thinking that if she's popular that will fill the void inside of her.
She'll feel wanted, she'll feel desired and therefore happy.
So she chases that.
Someone else may try adventure.
They say I'll travel the world,
I'll see the most beautiful places on earth and hike the highest mountains
and they have hopes that that thrilling adventure will be the answer.
Some pursue education because surely smart people don't struggle, right?
And yet we all know the wealthy man, the famous woman,
the adventurer, even the most intelligent person alive,
the when they all climb their mountains they only find that lasting happiness and fulfillment,
they're not waiting at the top for them.
What is it you are pursuing right now thinking it will make you happy?
The roads people travel down vary.
Some roads are clearly not the answer as we see one person pursuing maybe sexual explorations
or someone else thinking a sustained high from continuous drug use will do the trick.
Then other roads are not so obvious as one might seek happiness
by learning to play the piano or some instrument.
Another may strive for good health.
If I just eat right and exercise enough then my body will feel good, and then I'll be happy.
What about focusing on your children?
Investing all of your resources, all your time, your money into their success.
That sounds noble doesn't it?
But will it guarantee happiness? You know the answer.
So where does happiness come from?
Is it even attainable or is it always temporary and fleeting?
In the Bible a wise king named Solomon said,
"I have seen all the works that are done under the Sun
and indeed all is vanity and grasping after the wind."
This phrase "under the Sun" is key because it refers to life here on earth without God.
Solomon is saying that life without God is like chasing the wind,
and you just never can catch it.
If you feel like this describes your life, if you've traveled down life's many roads
and not found what you're looking for,
then I'm confident the Bible has some wonderful news for you.
I want to tell you about the joy that comes from being a Christian.
A joy that can only be found in God, and God says only through His Son Jesus Christ.
Now I've been using the word happiness accommodatively up to this point
because that's the word people most often use.
But there's a distinction-- an important distinction--
between words like pleasure and happiness
and then words the Bible uses like joy and blessedness.
The word that stands on the opposite side of happiness we might say is sadness.
The word that stands on the opposite side of a word like pleasure might be pain.
Happy, sad, pleasure, pain.
We all know these feelings very well as our life experiences can at times be described
as happy and pleasurable or at other times as sad and painful.
That's just normal life.
But joy on the other hand is something far deeper than feeling happy and laughing
or experiencing a feeling of gratification and pleasure.
Joy does not reside in your nerve endings. Rather, joy lives far deeper within you.
Having joy is to have the ability to be at peace in your mind
even with the storms of life blowing hard against you.
It's an internal contentment and satisfaction in the depths of your heart
that allows you to stay calm rather than being troubled.
It is to know and feel blessed even if things aren't going your way at the moment
because you're looking at life through a completely different lens--God's lens.
It's learning to view life from God's perspective.
We might say the "above the Sun" perspective.
Now I understand the world thinks this is all fake.
When I've spoken to people I would consider experienced in life,
people who are wealthy in this life, or maybe someone extremely intelligent...
They are all usually very cynical that something like this could even be attainable,
and, yet, the Bible says all of these people are wrong.
God says they're looking in the wrong places.
God says joy is possible, but it is not based on your circumstances or your surroundings.
It is based on who you are and the one with whom you associate.
So let's spend a few more minutes defining joy and then we'll talk about where you can find it.
I think perhaps joy is best defined by what it's not.
It is important to know that joy is not the absence of trouble, sadness, pain.
Those things happen to everyone,
but the Bible says that God's people are unsinkable through it all.
The Bible says, "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed;
We're perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed."
You see, normal life happens to everyone, even Christians.
But God's people have a resilience that will not allow anything to crush or destroy us.
We are unsinkable.
Of course we get wet, but we don't sink as others do.
The Bible goes on to say, "We do not lose heart.
Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
You see, joy is not the absence of trouble.
Even Jesus tells us we will have trouble in this world and yet he says,
"Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me."
Jesus is telling us that joy and peace are not contingent on circumstances.
They are contingent on what you believe and the one you believe and trust in.
The Bible even says we can, "Rejoice in the Lord always."
Now I emphasize, "in the Lord... and again I say rejoice."
How does that work? What do I need to do to keep the joy going?
Well the answer isn't so much in what you do
as much as it is in your decision to remain in the Lord.
This Bible passage goes on to tell us,
"...the peace of God which surpasses all understanding."
That's what will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Peace and joy are not something you see confined.
God gives them to you.
It's God who guards the heart and the mind.
So where is joy found?
It's only in God, and God says it's only through His Son Jesus Christ.
Listen to this beautiful statement of faith in God that's found in the Bible.
It says, "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines;
though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food;
though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's feet
and He will make me walk on my high hills."
What's he saying there?
He's saying that whether the farmer's crop fails
or the herdsman's animals fail to increase,
both of these can still rejoice in the God who provides for them.
You see, it doesn't matter if the stock market crashes tomorrow
because if you belong to the God who created and owns everything,
what do you have to be worried about?
If the waves are boisterous and terrifying against your boat but Jesus is in your boat,
why then do you need to be afraid?
You don't.
As a Christian I know that God's hand will always hold me up.
He will always give me joy and peace within.
Now this takes us back to something we talked about earlier.
The problem is that often people seek this inner contentment, this calm, this joy
by looking in all the wrong places.
It is not about controlling your environment,
and it's not something you make your number one priority.
This is very important.
If you make a happy marriage your number one priority, you'll never have it.
If you make your career the means by which you find fulfillment and joy, you will never get it.
Make happiness your number one objective in life and you'll never get it because it is a false god.
Happiness, gladness, joy, they are a byproduct of seeking something greater,
something more important than those things.
Seek after God.
Make God the most important thing in your life,
and then you not only get God but you get the joy that only God gives.
I like the way one man put it. He said,
"Aim for heaven and you get earth, too. But if you aim for earth you get neither."
Listen to what the Bible says, and try to picture the image presented here in your mind.
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night."
Here's the image.
"He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper."
Now I know there's a lot to think about here,
but I want to simply point out a few things relevant to our discussion.
First, notice we're talking about someone described as blessed--the blessed man.
Second, notice that this blessed man, he's not associating with sinners.
So where is he? Where is he located?
Well, he's compared to a tree that sinks its roots deep into the rivers of water
which represent God and God's Word.
Now this is very consistent with what we've been talking about
in that the blessed person is not finding their blessing in a sin-filled world.
Rather they are drawing it from God.
But the third thing of note here is that this tree isn't always full of fruit.
There are seasons which means there is a time for the fruit to appear
and a time when it doesn't.
Meaning this tree still deals with winter like every other tree,
But when fruit is expected, it's there.
Now notice also the leaf, it isn't always green, but the text says it doesn't wither.
God's people do not live in some make-believe fairy tale garden isolated from life seasons.
We experience winter, we experience the very same things in life,
but we continue to produce fruit when it's expected and we don't shrivel up and die.
Our leaves do not wither because happiness and joy do not just happen to you.
This is something you choose.
You choose whether you want to stand, sit, and run with the ungodly
or whether you want to plant your roots near God.
You choose your allegiance.
You choose the object of your affection.
This blessed man chose to delight in God's law, God's guidance, God's ways.
Now I know I'm repeating myself here, but it's not about controlling your environment.
It's about controlling where you're planted and where you put your mind.
What are you living for? Who are you living for?
The Bible says throughout its pages that if we seek God first,
the byproduct is a worry-free, anxiety-free, fear-free life.
Don't you want that? I know you do. I do.
And I know you haven't found it in this world, but you can have it with God.
And my prayer is that people outside of Christ will open their eyes
and see that God's ways are the right way to live,
but it's more than that. It's the very best way to live.
It's the joy-filled, fulfilled way to live.
Again, we Christians don't deny that life is incredibly hard.
We cry. We feel the pains of this world just like everyone else,
but they don't overwhelm us because we choose to be overwhelmed by God Himself.
We focus on the unchanging privileges we have in Christ.
And we do what the Bible says.
We put our minds on things that are true and noble, just and pure,
lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy.
This in part is how God guards our hearts and minds to preserve this joy.
Where do you find joy? It's only in God.
The Bible says in God's presence is the fullness of joy.
At His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
The Bible also says, "How precious is your loving kindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your pleasures.
For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light."
Does God want you to be happy? Yes, He does.
And He sent His Son Jesus to show us the way.
In fact, Jesus Himself said,
"I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly."