The September 2022 Mission Briefing

Let’s think about happiness. A few months ago, pastor Matt Wolf was our guest speaker and presented several ideas about the place of happiness in Christianity. He recommended we read Randy Alcorn’s nearly 500-page book called Happiness. The other day while on the phone with my older brother Derek, he also
recommended I investigate this excellent book. When I receive multiple  reinforcement from different sources from different places, I pay attention. This is how God sometimes gets our attention.

I was open to God speaking through these two, so I used my Audible credit for August, and now I’m listening to this 22-hour book on Christian happiness while commuting around town. Using scripture and reliable Christian theologians of the past, Alcorn challenges many misconceptions I have had about happiness in the Christian life. Let me recommend this book to you by sharing a few helpful thoughts from my listening so far. First, the Lord created in all of us an innate desire for happiness. It is a deep motivator for what we do. Think
about it: what does a vacation, a prestigious award, a raise at work, a marriage, and starting school have in common with staying home, avoiding crowds, changing jobs, getting a divorce, and finishing school? They seem like opposites, but these are all things people do believing it will make them happy. The pursuit of happiness is in all of us. We want different things but for the same reason. We are in the pursuit of happiness. God understands this and, in His books to us, has communicated how to be truly and deeply happy. This leads
us to the next thought.

Second, there is no better source for teaching about happiness than the Bible. It is the authority of God and humanity and the way to be happy. This is one of its major themes, the idea is everywhere complete with instruction and illustrations. Sometimes the Bible mentions the actual word happy and other times it uses synonyms like blessed, joy, merriment, or in verb forms like rejoice or be glad. In fact, considering these very common verbs, God repeatedly commands us to be happy. Surely, if He commands us to be happy, He also empowers us to be happy. In fact, this is what the gospel is all about. As the angels sang in Luke 2, they have the good news that bring great joy. The Lord has made you to share in His happiness, coming as the Son to make your happiness a reality. If we are serious about being happy, we need to listen to Him. This brings us to the last idea.

Third, happiness is not the opposite of holiness. They are part of the same thing in God’s eyes. We tend to think that to be holy is to give up on happiness. We count the cost and might consider that if we follow Jesus we will never be happy again. Does that lie sound familiar? Inversely, we think that seeking after happiness means that we are abandoning holiness. This is not the case at all. There will be times that we are tempted to rebel against God because we think it will make us happy. Lying, cheating, and stealing seem like the path to happiness in the moment, but they never deliver what they promise. When was the last time you were happy for any substantial amount of time because of sin? It was a lie! What you thought would lead to happiness only brought guilt and shame. God wants to spare us of this. If you want to be happy, choose Jesus. Choose love, choose the cross, and choose obedience because living for God is the happiest way to live.

Sure, there will be circumstances that dampen our happiness but because it is based on Jesus alone, happiness will win the day. It’s why He came. It’s why He died. It’s why He rose. It’s why He prepares a place for us even now. God wants you and He wants you to share in His happiness. This is why the good news is so good!

Rejoicing with you in Christ,
Kyle