A few days ago, a dear friend expressed to me that she didn’t like hearing preachers and others in the church community say how God wants us to be holy, not happy. I told her that is a lie. And as I thought about it more, I believe it’s a lie from the devil himself. God doesn’t want us walking around looking like vinegar is our favorite drink. He created us in His image to share in His holiness and perfection. That includes happiness. God determined us as set apart as Holy long before He decided to create the world. In Ephesians 1:4-6 we read, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” God Himself was happy when He adopted us into His family, and to praise Him is an expression of happiness on our part. Why wouldn’t He want us to be happy? Holiness is not only being separated from sin and worldliness but also being set apart for God’s purposes. Sanctification is the lifelong process by which we become holy. And we should be happy while this transformation is taking place. I for one am happy to be a part of God’s family, happy to be chosen to live the life that brings me to Him.
God said in Leviticus 20:7, “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord who makes you holy.” God makes us holy. We cannot do it ourselves. It states in 1 Corinthians 1:30, “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” On top of that, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, to be our comforter and guide, soon after what He did on the cross. That too makes me happy.
The Oxford dictionary defines happy as feeling or showing pleasure or contentment; a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with; joyful. Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Ephesians 5 warns us against greed, foolish talk, coarse jokes, anger, and against being drunk from an excess of wine. Rather, we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among ourselves, and making music to the Lord in our hearts. We are told to make joyful or happy noises to the Lord. The Holy Spirit brings forth the fruit of the spirit which are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. For me, the first two are extra special. Love brings them all. Joy brings the mindset. Galatians 5:24-25 reads, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” We become holy through what Jesus did for us on the cross. And if that don’t make you happy, then maybe a little more of Jesus will. That part.
Yes, God does want us to be holy. He also wants us to be happy. How else can we: follow His command for joyful praise, accept the joy He puts in our hearts, feel the fullness of joy when He answers our prayers, rejoice when another sinner repents, feel the joy of love itself, and the joy from the birth of a precious child. Thank you, Lord, for happiness. In 2 Peter 1:3-4 we read, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” We can escape the world’s lies and foolishness too, if we choose. That should make you want to shout! Happiness through holiness; happy about His promises. Shouldn’t anything bring you down, when you are in Christ. You should be happy!
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