Does God want me to be happy?
"Our troubles are small. They last only for a short time. But they are earning for us a glory that will last forever. It is greater than all our troubles" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
"Then he said to all of them, 'Whoever wants to follow me must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross every day and follow me'" (Luke 9:23).
"Blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord. They don’t follow the advice of evil people. They don’t make a habit of doing what sinners do. They don’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law" (Psalm 1:1).
God wants us to be happy, but He is more concerned with our holiness.God does want us to be happy, but our happiness is not His top concern. His top concern is to conform us to His likeness. This means He wants us to reflect Him to the world. Oftentimes, the transformation to become more like Christ is filled with hard times.
The world promotes the idea that we should always be happy. Sometimes the things of the world that will cause happiness are sinful behaviors. This is not the happiness that God wants you to experience. This is not true happiness. Happiness is knowing Christ and following Him.
Happiness will not be found in the things of this world. True happiness is only found in Christ. God does want you to be happy, but He also wants to make you grow to become more like Him. Your holiness is more important than your happiness.
