God Wants Me To Be Happy

Introduction

If you want to begin turning in Exodus chapter 2, we’re going to be looking at a couple of verses there as our first text this evening. I’ve heard the expression many times. I know some of you have heard it. And it has become almost trite as well in religion today. And the statement is God just wants me to be happy.

Happiness is deemed the right of the Christian. And since God wants me to be happy, you’re somewhat issued just a blank check, then to pursue whatever one calculates will bring me happiness. Now, before I dig further into that, I want to make a few preliminary observations. One of which is that God does not relish the miseries of his people, though sometimes they experience them. Even back in the days of Israel of old, when they are being treated harshly in Egypt, it says, Israel sighed because of the bondage in Exodus 2 and verse 23. And they cried out, and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning. Notice, he allowed them to groan. But he heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that led to the burning Bush incident and Moses’ commission to go and to lead powerfully God’s people out of Egypt.

Observation number two. Surely God wants his people to experience ultimate utter delight and endless bliss, as we’ve sung about, and Jared was right to anticipate that. And in his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures forever. My favorite verse in all the Bible. Psalm 16 to verse 11. Surely that is God’s intentions for his people. No, he does not relish the miseries of his people. But in what text of Scripture does Jesus or any other New Testament spokesman guarantee ideal circumstances devoid of any kind of difficulty and hardship. And yet that’s what many people mean about a certain course that they would like to pursue and think that God allows them to pursue because their present situation is not as desirable as the one they want to pursue.

And God just wants me to be happy.

So let me just answer this right in the beginning. In case I lose you somewhere along the way in the next 30 minutes. What about this saying, God just wants me to be happy? My simple answer to that is not if happy, by your definition, the thing that will make me happy in life, not if that thing is unlawful. Not if that thing runs counter to and opposed to the will of God. And so that’s the answer to this. God just wants me to be happy. No, not if that thing that you’re talking about is an unlawful pursuit or an unlawful relationship. Usually, when someone says this, in fact, in my experience, it’s been every time. When someone says, God just wants me to be happy, they are talking about a new marriage.

Not their first marriage, but an additional marriage, the first marriage not ending for the cause of fornication, an innocent party putting away a guilty party, and thus here they are, the first marriage is broken. This person does not have a right, according to the scripture, to marry someone else, and yet they are isolated and alone, and they want a cure for their loneliness, so they want to get married again. And the reason why it’s okay to get married again, even though there’s no scriptural approval for this conduct, is God wants me to be happy. But how do we even come to the conclusion that being unmarried is necessarily a bad thing or a curse? In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, in light of the present distress, Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 7 and verse 8, I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I am.

Paul, I’m on pretty confident ground here, Paul probably went to heaven and did so without marriage. And he is even advising people in light of the present distress that he’s going to mention later on down in this context. In verse 25 and following, verse 26, he mentions the present distress. In light of all that, if you’re now unmarried, a widow, then it’s probably better to stay as I am in that circumstance. And obviously, someone could then stay in that circumstance and go to heaven. Now he would say, if you’re married in verses 32, the one who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord. You can have undistracted devotion to the Lord in an unmarried state. But then he says, the person that is married is concerned, the husband is concerned about the things of the wife, how that he might be pleasing to her.

And the wife is concerned about the husband, how that she might be pleasing to him. And I’ve always said about these verses I think it’s the key to successful marriages. Now that you have this marriage before God and the responsibilities incumbent upon you have to try to seek the benefit and welfare and happiness of your mate. You seek to please them. And that goes for the husband in regard to the wife, and the wife in regard to the husband. And I’ll tell you, if we would just set ourselves to the pursuit of that task, our marriages would be better. I mean, they’re not going to be perfect. There are going to be situations and circumstances, difficulties, and disagreements. Those things are inevitably going to come.

But if we would set ourselves to the task of pleasing the one to whom we’re married, make that our focus and pursuit. Not if, well, if they do that, I’ll do it. Who’s going to go first? This isn’t about what your mate decides to do or not decide to do. The issue is what are you going to decide to do? And so if you’re married, you have this responsibility. It’s going to take time and effort and energy, but in this circumstance of the present distress, he says, if you don’t already have that obligation, don’t seek it. Do not seek a wife. The thought that people have when they bring this up, God just wants me to be happy, despite that failed marriage, where we have a marriage that has ended for a cause other than fornication.

The reasoning behind that is another marriage is going to bring me happiness, first of all. And what guarantee do you have of that? If you behave so miserably in the first.

Like first marriages do, contributing to that 50% of marriages end in divorce. You know, when you hear that statistics, that’s not just first marriages. That’s second and third and fourth. Because a lot of people never learn from the first problem that they were part of the problem. And they bring that into the second marriage and the third marriage and so on.

The thinking is I need to get married because I can’t live without sexual gratification. And that’s just false. There are some people who want to get married, who never get married, who never find that perfect person of the right circumstances to get married, and they’re going to have to live without that. Fornication isn’t okay because I just want to be happy. Is it? Or people think I just can’t survive spiritually without a mate. 1 Corinthians 7 says that is not so. Or that the temptation is just too severe. This passage would argue otherwise. And if we start using this, God just wants me to be happy line to approve of an additional marriage, then what about the expunging of a life? An unwanted pregnancy. Because this child that has been conceived is going to severely hamper your circumstances.

And my life would be happier without motherhood, especially being a single mother. And so now I can just expunge this God given life, this conception. I can just expunge that because I want to be happy. If not, why not? Or perhaps it is a homosexual relationship that one wants to approve. And somebody says, Well, I’m just more attracted to someone of the same sex. Regardless of what God says, and God just wants me to be happy. Why not? You see, the reasoning would work in regard to any illicit relationship or act because we have determined what will bring me happiness. And so, I want to conclude about these thoughts. God nowhere promises or requires blissful circumstances for his children. I think that’s what folks buy into.

That I ought to have blissful circumstances, ideal circumstances, because I’m God’s child. And God nowhere promises that. In fact, faith often thrives more in adverse circumstances than in pleasant ones. You know, when everything is going well and difficulties are few. It seems like as you get older, you can never say that all the difficulties are gone. But sometimes there seems to be fewer difficulties than at other times. You know, when I was younger, I didn’t have any idea what that was all about. But once you start having a family and all the things that go with that, it seems like there’s always some kind of difficulty to deal with. But when there are fewer difficulties to deal with in life, you tend to be more self-reliant, less God dependent.

1. The Christian and Suffering

But in adversity, when your problems seem so great and they are weighing on you so heavily, then you are driven to seek help beyond yourself. And more likely to grow in your relationship with God and your dependence upon Him. God nowhere promises or requires blissful circumstances, and God nowhere promotes indulgence of every desire. Eternal bliss is a future reward, not a present possession. Thank you, Jared, for preaching my sermon before I got to. That’s right. Eternal bliss is a future reward, not a present possession. Where’s the passage that says, I want this thing, and so I can have it? Where does God promote indulgence? Now I want to make three points that flow out of this. Number one, and I’ve hinted at this already, the Christian and suffer.

Just a brief look at the biblical text would suggest that the Christian is not exempt from suffering. And I could take you to one chapter. Where am I going to take it? One chapter in the scripture that would indicate that the Christian is not exempt from suffering. Which chapter would you choose? What verse would you choose? I’m going to surprise you here. That’s not the one. Good guess. Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11? The great hall of faith. Yeah, that’s where I’ll take it. Those that wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins, it says, ill-treated, staying in holes in the ground. Those who shut the mouths of lions. And all of the men that, the men and women that are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, they experienced difficulties.

Everything wasn’t easy all the time for them because they were God’s chosen people. And what is the conclusion that flows out of that great chapter? Let us run with what? Endurance in the race that’s set before us. Now, why would you need that if everything was easy and simple? Run with endurance. And then do what? Lay aside the sin that so easily entangles us, and that adds difficulty to our lives, the fight against sin. But more than that, he says, lay aside every weight or every burden or obstacle in our lives. What does Hebrews 12 and verse 1 say? There’s going to be some tough things. That you’re going to have to work through with your faith in your relationship with God, that you’re going to have to endure in life.

Weeping and suffering are not diametrically opposed to the life of a Christian. Well, no wonder we’re admonished. I think we struggle more with the latter, rejoice with those who rejoice.

When in Romans chapter 12 and verse 15, we’re admonished to rejoice with those who rejoice, not be envious of their rejoicing. That’s another whole sermon. But the first part of that, misery loves company. We’re better at that. Because we’re not envious of their circumstances when they’re weeping. But it says, weep with those who weep. That says weeping is going to be involved in our Christian walk. Bless those who persecute you, the previous verse says. That involves difficulty. Bless and curse not. And when he talks about the body in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, he says, if one member suffers, there it is. If one member suffers, all the members are to do what? Suffer with it. Have the same care. One for another. You are Christ’s body and individually members of it.

And Peter talks about suffering as a Christian versus suffering as an evildoer in 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 15 and 16. And one more example before I move on. What was that prophet? What was his name in the Old Testament? The one who was prophesying right before the destruction of the Babylonians of the city of Jerusalem. What was that guy’s name? Jeremiah. And what is he called? The weeping prophet. Sounds like he went through some tough times. If he would be styled the weeping prophet. Trials and endurance are characteristic words of the believer’s life. You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10, verse 36. That’s a verse that precedes the great hall of faith and using them as an example of men and women who had to endure difficulty.

2. The Cost of Discipleship

Well, the second point that I want to make about this business of God just wants me to be happy, and that provides the blank check to do whatever I want to do, even if it’s unlawful, which isn’t so, is the cost of discipleship. The mentality that God just wants me to be happy, that he I can have this relationship, because this relationship makes me happy, feeds into the very present mindset and attitude that removes the cross from Christianity. God is on your side, therefore, life on Easy Street, a little sweat and effort is required. Does that mean because you’re a Christian, everything’s going to come up smelling like a rose? I take you to Luke 14. Luke 14. The great multitudes came to Jesus. This is not a way to win friends and influence people.

The great multitudes are coming to Jesus, and here’s what he says to them. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Now, when he says that, you have to see this in the greater context of Jesus’ ministry and other things that he said about these relationships. And obviously, parents are to love their children. It’s not, he’s not saying start hating your kids and loathing them. He’s not saying hate your spouse or hate your parents, in the sense of loathe them and treat them with contempt. But what he is saying, even in regard to our own lives, is that something else has to come first.

Your relationship with me. Your discipleship in my cause. And then he says, whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. And then he tells a story about calculating the cost in terms of discipleship. And he’s already said in his ministry that a man’s foes would be they of his own household. Family members will not understand your decision. And they may even oppose you. Your own family. That’s a cost of discipleship. And you may not like it. You may not want it. You may wish it wasn’t that way, but some of you have experienced it. They do not approve of your decision to serve the Lord. And God doesn’t make that go away. The cost of discipleship. Choosing to live right in the midst of an evil world, going against the grain of culture, running counter to popular thought, inevitably produces conflict.

This quote is attributed to Sam Rayburn. If you want to get along, go along.

If you want to get along, go along. But I think what he’s saying is, if you hold a minority opinion about something, that sometimes it’s better off to just swallow that and get along with folks and move hand in hand and arm in arm. But I’ll tell you what I don’t think Sam Rayburn meant, and if he did, he was wrong. He doesn’t mean compromise righteousness and compromise morality to please other people. And I think that’s what we’re tempted to do a lot of the time because our decisions run counter to the culture that we live in. What we wear when the world dresses immodestly, how we speak when the world speaks corruptly, the beverages we consume when others intoxicate themselves with alcohol, the things we will not watch that the world watches.

3. The Joy of the Righteous

People want us to compromise. I don’t think Sam Raber meant at all. Well, if you want to get along with those folks, go along. Do not run with the multitude in doing what is evil. Exodus 23 and verse 2. He’s not saying lock arms, go hand in hand with those who are making outlandish decisions in terms of morality. And when you decide to be different, somebody will not be happy with that decision. And that will involve the cost of discipleship. And you may not be able to have the friends that you would like to have because they reject you. Sometimes even your own brethren might reject you. And these are a part of the cost of discipleship. And I want to conclude with this, and that is the joy of the righteous.

It does not mean that joy for the Christian is only a future consideration. There’s some things God wants me to be happy about. And there are a lot of things to be happy about as God’s people, and we need to have that perspective, and we talked about this morning. The grace of God, Jesus’ sacrifice, salvation, promises, love, fellowship, providence, blessings, aid, brethren, wisdom, guidance. All of these things that He has provided for us as His children, we need to focus on these and be happy about these wonderful blessings that we have as God’s people, though there are some things about our life and circumstances that are difficult. Charles Dickens, who lived in the early 1800s, said, reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many.

Not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

Admittedly, that’s hard to do when you’re struck with physical pain and emotional hurt and loneliness and rejection and weariness and injustice, the loss of a loved one. We might call those the awful seven. It’s hard to do when those things confront.

That’s not the way we wish it was. Or if our mate is not pursuing what the scripture instructs them to do, that’s not ideal. I shouldn’t be happy about that because my spouse could lose their soul if they do that and persist in that conduct. And sometimes that happens. All of my earthly relationships may not be ideal. And the scriptures speak to that. Nor do I have to be happy about, or does God require me to be happy about all of the results of my choices. We’ve all made some poor choices in life. Every sin we commit is a poor choice. And with the sin we commit, there are consequences. Sometimes those consequences are severe. Sometimes they are lifelong and undesirable and they don’t go away.

For example, a mate commits infidelity, perhaps rupting the marriage to an extent that the faithful, innocent spouse puts them away. And here they are in a condition that they can not marry again. That’s what it pertains to our subject tonight. Here you are. You’re a put-away immoral person. You can repent of that. You can come back into the favor of God. You can have the fellowship of God’s people. But you can’t marry another. And you’ll live with that. Until that spouse dies. Or you will die first. And that’s just the consequences of that choice. And that’s just one example. The sins of our past things happen. Perhaps reputation is tainted, and it takes a long time to gain back people’s trust and confidence. And we don’t have to be happy about all the results of those choices.

Foolish things we did when we were kids. The trouble we got into, the criminal record that might have resulted. The cars we wrecked, the people that we injured, the pain and grief we brought our parents. And sometimes those results can be severe. But those scars are there. They cannot be removed. My present circumstances. Matthew chapter 6. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about anxiety and how God cares about the lilies of the field. And the implication is he cares even more about you who are made in his image. And he says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And in that context, what he’s telling us is that there may be a temptation to grow overly anxious about our circumstances and that interfere with our faith and devotion to God.

And so by implication, he’s talking about present circumstances in our lives that cause us great and deep concern. He says, Don’t be overwhelmed by anxiety. Take no thought for tomorrow. The things of tomorrow will take care of themselves. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. And we’re given a wonderful prescription about how to deal with difficult circumstances in our lives. Let’s quit worrying about where this thing is going to be a week from now, a month from now, or a year from now, we don’t know that we’re going to live that long. But we do have today and right now, and let’s make the best of that and let’s respond in vain. That’s what we’re being told in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus offers no exemption from trouble.

And then there’s my financial situation. Well, other people have it going on. They have a six-figure salary, but I don’t. When are things going to turn around for me? When are things going to get better financially? I don’t have all these bills.

Paul said, I know how to have abundance. And I know how to be in one. He experienced both of them in his lifetime. And you may as well. I mean, raising kids is a financial killer.

You may not have all the things materially that you would like.

What would you do if all of a sudden our financial safety net was taken away? Have you thought about this? As a kid, I never thought about this. I mean, I was living in the 1970s, the golden era of the United States of America. Everything was apple pie and Chevrolet and baseball. Not anymore. I mean, if you imagine a time when none of us could afford a smartphone. All of a sudden we didn’t have any service. We couldn’t afford gasoline. In fact, there was no gasoline. Utility shut off. We don’t. No air conditioning, heaven forbid. Can you imagine that? Do you think that’s even possible? I think so. I’ll tell you what would happen if those circumstances resulted. A lot of folks would go belly up.

And I might be one of them. Boy, life would really get hard then, wouldn’t it? We don’t have any guarantees of all of this stuff we’ve been used to all of our lives. And then there’s our health. We know this is true, right? Great people that we’ve known get cancer. Great people that we’ve known died untimely deaths. I don’t understand why Phil Roberts died. I don’t understand why Marty Pickup died. I don’t understand. I just know it happens. We’re not cancer and heart attack and disease exempt. Untimely death, thorn in the flesh like Paul had in 2 Corinthians 12. He wasn’t exempt from that. What makes us think that I might not have some thorn of some kind to keep me humble in my circumstances? I have plenty of reasons to be humble.

But if we have a thorn in the flesh, perhaps. The pain. The aging process. You think we’re going to be exempt to that? Just stick around. You’re not going to be exempt from that. The days when all of the numbers in your phone book end in MD. Those days. When you get winded playing chess. Those days. When you sink your teeth into a stake and they stay there. We’re not exempt from these things. Romans chapter 8. Is your life less than you would want it to be? Is there pain? Paul realized that there might be. And perhaps it might even be typical. He says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy. To be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

That passage that talked about greatly rejoicing with joy inexpressible and full of glory in 1 Peter chapter 1. Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls and talking about the things which God has revealed, things into which angels long to look. He concludes in verse 13 Therefore, gird your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely on what Paul talked about in Romans 8 18. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That will bring joy in the midst of tough circumstances. If you’ll focus on that, if you’ll fix your hope completely on that, then not fixing this temporal trouble that sometimes cannot be fixed. Cannot be made better. I don’t know the circumstances of everybody in our audience tonight. How you would rate them in relation to other brethren who meet in this assembly.

However undesirable, regardless of my circumstances and trials, I’m going to bear my cross. I’m going to be a light to the world. I’m going to give praise to God. I’m going to exalt others above myself and serve them, and I’m going to be ready for the day of judgment, and I’m going to make sure that I’m ready to receive his well done. And if you can focus on that and realize the blessings of being his child, then getting back to this morning’s thoughts.

He and Philip, they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. And he came up out of the water, and Philip was snatched away. And what did the nobleman do? He went on his way. Rejoicing. And when we lose that, it is because we have allowed life’s difficult circumstances to distract us from the things that we need to be happy about. You’ve heard the truth. Have you obeyed it to the saving of your soul? I want you to remember that day. And I want you to think about this text.

And then as he contemplates that treasure, what’s he do? And from joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that feet. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. And upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. That’s the kingdom. How can we not be content with that? But that’s precisely our problem at times. We want more. We have so much, but we want more. I want better. I want, hey, let’s go all the way to the top. I want perfect. Give me perfect, and I’ll sign on. And if you don’t give me perfect God, what’s the problem here? I’m your child. Where are we getting that in the scripture?

Remember the things we’re supposed to be happy about? Those are the things God has given that I can fix my hope completely on the grace to be brought to me at the revelation of Jesus Christ. I have the most valuable possession in the world. I have the hope of immortality. I have the knowledge of salvation. You realize how many people are so confused and lost out there in the world, they don’t know which ends up. About life. About meaningful living. About going to heaven. They have not a clue. And here we sit on the treasure and we moan and complain and gripe and blame God. And sometimes misbehave. Because we’re not happy. That’s a loss of perspective. God doesn’t say, well, just do whatever you want to do and it’ll be okay.

Act however you want to act. It’ll be just fine. I think it’s what people want. They want the New Testament to say that. I want it, and so I can have it. God just wants me to be happy. No. God wants you to be righteous. God wants you to be holy. God wants you to pursue goodness. And he’ll bless you far beyond anything you can imagine. But as long as you’re selfish, and it’s about me and what I want, you can’t be his disciple. You can call yourself whatever you want, but you can’t be his disciple. Some local church somewhere can offer fellowship to you, but you can’t be his disciple. Because that’s what the book says. Are you one of his? Does this describe your course?

Conclusion

Have you known the joy of the eunuch who was baptized into Christ? And who was able, because of the knowledge that he had been saved from sin and from a vain way of life, that he could go on his way rejoicing. Have you had that moment? Are you judgment ready and heaven-bound? God wants you to be happy. And he wants a happiness for you that you can’t begin to know the depths of. But it may not be in blissful circumstances here, the ultimate is the hope that he’s promised. Won’t you lay hold of that while there’s time and opportunity while we stand and say?