“BUT GOD WANTS ME TO BE HAPPY” – Nov 14
November 14, 2013“When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” Hosea 1:2
“God just wants me to be happy; therefore I am going to do ________________.”
Murder…Divorce…Adultery…
Homosexuality… Fornication… Theft…
Overeating… Laziness… Disrespect…
I have heard these actions used to end this sentence. This one sentence may just be the most frequently used justification for sin in our generation.
We accept a lie from the bowels of hell when we believe that our earthly happiness trumps the commandments of God.
God’s greatest priority is not our earthly happiness. His sovereign plan is not contingent upon my personal feelings of joy and satisfaction in the circumstances that I find myself. In fact, God does not want you or I to be happy in our sin. He wants us miserable in our sin. He wants to kill the sin of our flesh.
God did not tell Hosea to marry a wife of whoredom because He knew that would make Hosea happy. God had a purpose for Hosea that was beyond his happiness. God was going to allow Hosea to be deeply hurt to show how the actions of Israel were hurting Him. God was calling Hosea to unhappiness so that the beauty of repentance and the renewal of a loving relationship with the Lord would be shown to God’s people.
True happiness is found only in the love of God.
Photo credit: JesseBarker / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:10-11)
We experience the love of God, when we abide in His love. We abide in His love, when we keep His commandments. That is when our joy will be full. It is by our obedience that we can remain joyful in unhappy circumstances. Our joy is not dictated by circumstances. Joy is a gift of God to all those who abide in His love.
The escape from unhappiness lies in the loving embrace of God, experienced through our obedience.
God does want me to be happy – in His love.“God just wants me to be happy;
therefore I am going to be obedient to his commandments through all my unhappy circumstances.”
PRAYER: O Lord, you know all the justifications that I have used for my sin. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for leading me to repentance and returning me to your love. Help me to abide in You. Help me to desire your love more than my happiness. Help me to endure sadness and disappointment through the hope that you have given me. Help me to be joyful even if you are taking me through unhappiness. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A DEVOTED LIFE 
Hi JD, I saw that you had liked my most recent blog post and I clicked on your story. It felt strange to read what you had written about yourself because it was all so familiar and yet, now so alien to me. I am 47 and have been a believing Christian like you, for as long as I can remember. Unlike you my family aren’t believers so my faith was even more precious to me as it was my own thing. I have always been very serious about my faith, at times I have had doubts about things but it never about God himself, usually it was about disappointment with other Christians but it just made me even more determined to be sincere and single-minded, God was really going to be pleased with me!
For some time now I have been un-becoming a Christian. I have blogged about it as the journey has unfolded so far. When I started blogging about it I could never have foreseen where I would be now. It has been a combination of reading, searching, circumstances, upsets, disappointments, opportunities, influences and maybe just growing older. I don’t know why now but all I can tell you is I no longer believe what Christians claim to believe and I feel great about it. For the first time in my life I am not afraid! I think so many Christians simply believe in a God that they have made in their own image, they have made an idol of the bible and they have switched their brains off and called it faith. I did. I realise now that I was able to do that because underneath it all was a fear instilled in me in childhood, something I lived with and therefore didn’t recognise as it was just part of me. I hate the fact that well-meaning religious people taught me as a child that I was sinful and would go to hell unless… I think it is a dreadful thing to tell anyone and I feel sorry for these people and can forgive them as they believed with all their hearts that they were doing what they were supposed to do to save people (at least I hope they did a otherwise it was just cruel).
My journey continues, I have no ANSWERS but I am happier about the questions and I am liberated from religiosity, hypocrisy, fear and the childish arrogance that what I was and have been told trumps what anyone else has been told.
ANYWAY, I am terribly aware that most people who have commented on your blog have said encouraging things and agree with what you believe and say. I hope you don’t mind me sharing my own recent experience here. I wish you well.
Thank you for your comments. I don’t mind you sharing your experience at all. I realize that there are many people who do not share my beliefs. I appreciate the kind manner by which you shared your journey. As you can probably appreciate, I have been grieved by your journey away from a faith that I believe to be true. I have been praying for you since you posted your comments. I realize that there is nothing that I write that can undo all that you have experienced through the years that have brought you to current place. However, I am curious of what you believe about God. If you want to talk about it, you can email me at jdblom@outlook.com . JD
Reblogged this on A Christian Warrior and commented:
“Joy is a gift of God to all those who abide in His love”
Thanks for this, I Preached on the Joy of God a few weeks back.
Chris – thanks for the reblog; I appreciate it very much.
God Bless
JD
Truth. I like the feel of it. thanks.
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” So true! And thank you for your support!
Amen
It was such a joy to read this post! Especially after being bombarded constantly with the “happiness message”.
Some time ago, I was hit once again with a happiness proclamation, this time in the gas station. One of the cashier’s was saying to a customer, “Well, we just want our kids to be happy. That’s all that really matters.” I blurted, “I don’t!” You could have heard a pin drop. I continued, “What I want is for my children to live RIGHT. If they are into some kind of wickedness, the very last thing I want is for them to be happy. They can’t be happy doing wrong.” Not sure how many friends I made with those statements.
Anyway, thanks for another thought-provoking, well-written post.
Best Regards!
This is such a hard concept to internalize! I agree with you, and I also agree that many misinterpret God’s expectations for us. I like the contrast between happiness and holiness…they may coexist, but may not. I also like the distinction that joy and happiness are not the same. Thought provoking! Thank you for the clear and direct message! ~ Sheila
Sheila – thanks for you comment. It is a concept that I have to continually remind myself about. My default tends to be my own happiness.
God Bless!
JD
Umm hmm. We get “Happily Ever After” when we Happily give up whatEver God is After! 😉
\o/
Very well said! Do all things with a cheerful heart.
God Bless!
JD
Yep. God’s goal for us in not our happiness, it is our holiness.
You took the words right out of my mouth! Solid post…so true.
Thanks Brian
Amen!
Good stuff! Keep it up!
Thanks for the encouragement. It is very much appreciated.
God Bless!
JD
Yep. Wickedness never was happiness. God’s work is to bring to pass the immortality and Eternal Life of man. That is our final “happy place.” Not so much promised to us here on earth. Gail
A quick skim of Proverbs makes clear what will make us truly happy. “He blesses the home of the righteous” (3:33b). “Blessed are those who keep my ways” (8:34a). “The prospect of the righteous is joy” (10:28a).
I appreciate the realistic approach you’ve taken, JD, asking God to help you be joyful even in unhappy circumstances. You don’t expect heaven on earth every minute. But you do anticipate a miracle–God’s joy in the midst of difficulty! I’m praying the same.
Nancy – Great and very applicable verses. Thanks for sharing them.
I am slowly learning that happiness and joy are not the same. Learning to distinquish them takes some obedience so for me there is some patience involved. It seems happiness is an instant feeling for me often coming from my own desires. Joy for me often follows a time of obedience and takes some waiting on God…something I find much harder.. I pray I, too, will learn to pass through and weather some unhappiness and to trust you Jesus, to bring joy as I learn to be obedient,
I needed to hear this today. Thank you and Amen.
I read a fortune from a fortune cookie this week. I hope I can remember it… Joy comes from the shadow of sorrows..or something to that effect. Your post reminded me of it. I think God makes good things happen when we repent from our earthly desires but we shouldn’t let temptation become a part of us. It is just too easy and we want to find an excuse-an out. There is no excuse. Thanks for this. 🙂
Reblogged this on The Heart of My World and commented:
Was reading True happiness is found only in the love of God… I’ll say AMEN!!!
Thank you very much for the reblog.
God Bless!
JD
Reblogged this on Through the Eyes of This Calvinist.
Thanks for the reblog. It is very much appreciated.
God Bless!
JD
Oh the truths in this post! Happiness apart from the commands, or will, of God is not godliness or true freedom. It’s the way of death that only seems right. Then, I loved (really loved) your point that love is far more substantial than mere happiness, to the point of producing real joy. If we love God, we will wish to keep his commandments and so abide in his love. Excellent post and I thank you.