Does God Want You to Be Happy or Holy?
Discover God's heart and means to bless you and the nations with happiness
A pastor friend recently told me, "God doesn't want you to be happy; He wants you to be sanctified."
Honestly, those little "words of wisdom" didn't sit well with me at all.
If God doesn't want His children happy, what does He want? Misery? Don't misunderstand me. Sanctification is a necessary thing. But answer this: is it even possible to be holy and unhappy?
Man's Chief End
The WCF shorter catechism states that man's chief purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That long-held truth does not pit holiness against happiness. Instead, it weaves the two together in a perfect marriage.
Jesus spent an entire sermon teaching His children the way of happiness, beginning with the beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit…the meek…those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…the merciful…pure in heart…peacemakers…and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake."
The word "blessed" μακάριος (STRONGS G3107) means happy, or "supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off:—blessed, happy."
That's why some Bibles translate μακάριος as "happy."
"Happy are the poor in spirit…the meek…those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…the merciful…pure in heart…peacemakers…and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake."
Holiness Is the Path to Happiness
God wants us sanctified because it is the way to happiness. The two fit together like a glowing face on an expectant mother. Yes. God wants His children sanctified. He also wants us to be happy.
In fact, God commands us to be happy continually, i.e., to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4). A cursory study of the word "happy" in the Bible reveals many ways God has given to bring happiness to our souls:
A quiver full of children (Psalms 127:5)
Eating the labor of our hands (Psalm 128:2)
Having God as our LORD (Psalm 144:15)
Knowing the God of Jacob as our helper (Psalm 146:5)
Finding wisdom (Proverbs 3:13)
Showing mercy to the poor (Proverbs 14:21)
Keeping God's law (Proverbs 29:18)
And this list doesn't even touch the many synonyms like joy, rejoice, gladness, etc.
But there's more.
Happiness and Well-Being
God doesn't stop at merely wanting His children happy. He also wants things to go well with us and our future generations forever. Suffering, pain, and persecution are not God's ultimate desire for mankind. True, sometimes, even often, God chooses difficult means to chastise, strengthen, and grow His children.
That's why we are called to rejoice (be happy) even in our suffering, knowing that God is working in us something far greater than we can ask or imagine.
I've recently been tested on this very issue, enduring a longer-than-usual bout of sickness over the holidays. We've had to cancel our Christmas and New Year plans and opt for lots of elderberry tea and rest. I admit I've struggled to understand why.
Everything for Health and Godliness
God doesn't just care about our holiness. He also cares about our physical well-being. And He has provided everything we need to prosper physically and spiritually (see John 10:10; 2 Peter 1:3; 3 John 2).
As a family, we are convinced that God has supplied all we need to create a strong immune system that can fight illness and disease. He is, after all, our Healer.
Our family is keenly aware of how the foods we eat and the way we treat our body affects our health. We can almost always attribute a cause to our sicknesses — eating bad food (and too much sugar), not getting enough rest, allowing stress to control us, or exposure to negative environmental factors. Yet, in this case, we could not pinpoint a definitive cause.
As a result, I've had to trust in the goodness of God and have faith that He is working all things out for my good and His glory — even in this seemingly wasted illness. Yet, nothing is wasted with God.
Suffering Is Not God's End Goal
Despite this illness and the other crazy things happening in our world, I remain confident that God's ultimate plan for His children is not suffering.
Believe it or not, I come to that conclusion from reading the Bible.
The overarching message from Genesis to Revelation is one of hope and happiness for mankind, just as Jesus taught while on earth. Blessed (i.e. happy) are those who follow God's path for life. However, if there's one verse that sums up God's inner desire for mankind, it's Deuteronomy 5:29.
This verse tips God's hand and reveals His heart for you and me.
"Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!"
The Wellspring of Blessing
God desires that we might fear Him and follow His good ways because He knows that's the wellspring of all God's blessings. There is a critical connection between well-being and obedience to God's law-word (Genesis to Revelation) that cannot be ignored or avoided.
Sadly, many Christians have adopted a "suffering" mentality, believing that the lot of humankind forever is only struggle, doom, and gloom.
But that's not what the Bible teaches.
On the contrary! God's ultimate desire is for us to be happy, blessed, and at peace (if that makes your blood boil, you might want to consider re-reading the Bible with fresh eyes). Yes, times of suffering will come — and many who follow Jesus will give up their lives to see it happen. But martyrdom, persecution, and suffering are not the trajectory of history or life. The gospel of the kingdom is about blessing and beauty. And it only comes one way.
Beauty and Blessings
As we apply more and more of God's good laws to our life, church, and state — then God (who cannot lie) promises to bless. True, some men will give up their lives to bless future generations. And every generation must be willing to lay down their life — IF that's what God calls them to do. But the end goal is not suffering. Jesus laid down His life for the glories that would follow (1 Peter 1:11). What glories? All the promises and blessings of the kingdom, including, but not limited to the hope of heaven.
The beauty is that as we work toward bringing God's will to earth as it is in heaven, we can fight the good fight unto death because we have the hope of heaven. But we are in reality fighting for earth, to bring God's justice and righteousness down here, to relieve suffering, set free the captives, see God's peace invade this world more and more as God promised it would (Isaiah 9:6-7). We are working for God's name to be hallowed, His kingdom to come, and His will to be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.
We don't sacrifice in vain. Rather, we sacrifice for the future of our children and their children — just as Jesus did when He died on the cross.
Faith as a Prerequisite
But it takes faith.
Hebrews 11:6 teaches that without faith, it's impossible to please God. For he who comes to God must believe that:
God exists; and
God blesses obedience
God has called us to pray for peace "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
God Wants to Bless
If God asks us to pray for something, we can be sure it is according to His will. Paul says that praying for peace is "good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." And if we know our prayer is according to His will, we know He will answer with a YES — so long as we pray in faith (1 John 5:15).
God wants things to be well with us. That's His heart, and it's the good news of the gospel. God desires us to fear Him and always obey all His commandments.
Why? So it might go well with us and our children forever.
And when we love God, obedience is not an arduous task.
"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).
Obedience to God's law brings an abundance of blessings, not just spiritual blessings, but physical as well. And it brings peace.
Old Versus New
In truth, Deuteronomy 5:29 reveals more than God's heart. It also reveals the heart of the New Covenant.
The Old Covenant was God's Law written on tablets of stone. The New Covenant is the Law of God written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). God has made that which is impossible (perfect obedience) possible in Christ. In Christ, we have God's Law written on our hearts so that we WANT to obey. And when we fail, God sees the perfect obedience of Jesus in our stead. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
In Christ, we CAN obey God's law and meet the requirements for God to bless. That's what God promised to Abraham all those years ago, saying, "In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 22:18), and that seed is Christ (Galatians 3:16).
Christ wants us to spread the happiness of the gospel to all nations, teaching them to observe everything that He commands (see Matthew 28:18-20) — so they can be blessed too .
Blessings not Cursings
Notice this: God wants to BLESS the nations through Christ, not curse them. Jesus is called the “Desire of Nations” because He brings blessings to nations who follow Him — but only in as much as those nations seek to apply His Law to their lives and societies.
That's the good news of the gospel. And it's God's heart.
Are you familiar with all the blessings God promises to a people who obey His commands? In a future post, we’ll look at the blessings we can expect when we apply God's law to society and the curses we can expect when we don't.
If you can’t wait to learn more, you can read about the blessings and curses in How Blessed Is the Nation.