Can Christians Be Happy?

There's plenty of things in this world to complain about, grieve about, pray about... but is it a good thing to walk around all the time covered in sackcloth and ashes?Yeah, self-sacrifice isn't easy. Dying to yourself hurts often times. Trials and lies from the enemy can toss you around and cause you to doubt. Seeing Christians fall and stumble left and right is grieving. But despite these things, doesn't God give me enough to be happy about? Shouldn't I be a reflection of His goodness & hope rather than this world's corruption & depression?Here's some quotes I've read the past few days that have really made me reconsider my own character and attitude:"The Hasidic Jews believe that the best way to worship God is by being happy. They even incorporate dance and celebration into their spiritual walk...The Scottish writer George MacDonald said, 'It is the heart that is not yet sure of its God that is afraid to laugh in His presence.'So often with old people and children all sense of what would be appropriate is swallowed up in what feels right. That's refreshing. We waste too many years between childhood and our older years measuring our behavior on a scale we think we see in someone else's eyes.God loves us as we are right now! That's one of the things I'm most grateful for. I love the freedom to be myself in God. I pray that a year from now, five years from now, I will be godlier, but I know God won't love me any more than He does right this minute..."Just a thought or two from someone else. What do you guys think?

Hi YolandaI think I know what you are getting at, though I think the better word would be "content". No we are not to have a frown or solemn face all the time. Knowing the Lord does produce much joy in our lives and it should be evident- it should show as fruit. I think we have to be careful about using the word "happiness". Here's why: the Lord spoke to me very clearly a couple of years ago about being "happy".Controlling our HappinessThere once was a girl who tried to control her world.She wanted to be happy by controlling her environment, by letting into her life, those things that made her happy.For the will of God is not for us to be "happy", but to live for Him and glorify Him. This will bring us happiness beyond compare, for nothing can compete with happiness in spirit, joy in spirit. Our temporary happiness in the flesh is but fleeting and selfish. Must we restrain ourselves with chains to keep from giving in to the flesh, to our wants of this world? If need be. For I know I am in chains, just as Paul. Chained to my Lord, going where He goes, doing what He would have me do.Let us throw off the bondages of this world,these things we think we must have, these things we think we must do in order to be "happy." Let us crucify the flesh that we may be resurrected in power and truth, as was the Son. Glory be to God our Father, the giver of all good things. He will see that we have what we need. He is the author and perfector of our faith.2 Tim. 2:11"For if we died with Him we shall also live with Him, if we endure we shall also reign with Him." Dec. 28, 2002Yes, I think the words joy, contenment and peace are probably better in this case. And yes, we should exhibit those.Why would anyone want to become a christian if all christians were downcast, frowning and serious all the time. It is not to be so all the time. Of course there are times we will all go through when the Lord is breaking us, or molding us- and we go through these seasons. But these seasons produce more joy in the Lord. :)God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness- but true holiness (not the fake pharisee kind) will produce joy and contentment.In Him, chanin

Good points. And you're right, God will give us what we need. And it is true that we need to learn to be content because then we'll never be happy. And joy is better than happiness because joy survives everything while happiness depends on good circumstances.I don't know that I really had a point. Just striving to be well rounded I guess. Finding the middle of extremes. Most of all, being who God wants me to be, despite others' opinions.Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi Sister Diehl,When i first saw your post i thought to myself, "Sure Christians can be happy, if we'd just stop being so concerned about being happy" ... '0)i say this kinda tongue in cheek because i remember when i was most unhappy in my Christianity, and i dare say i hear it masked in the complaints of so many other Christians, it was when i was really missing Egypt ... "Yeah i know i was in slavery, but now i've got these 10 commandments, or this wilderness, etc." ... I know for a fact, in my youth, why i was once so prone to backsliding, life in Christ just didn't seem fun ... But now that i'm more mature in Christ, my old man lying dead in the wilderness, and now am crossed over into the promised land!!! ... But even with this, although happier, i'm not always happy ... i learned a long time ago, from a sermon, that happiness is transitory, it comes and it goes with circumstances ... But JOY, as in "NO MATTER WHAT I'M SAVED & A CHILD OF THE KING" ... That's forever! ... and it'll lift you spirits to happiness anew if we let it ... AmenPS - You're still in my prayers, and i'm mainly asking the Lord to bless you with what/who He wants for you ... He sees your heart, and He knows ... He knows ... Just keep on being faithful ... In Jesus name ... Amen

Yodi, You are on the right track. God's love is so amazing. I thought you might appreciate this quotation, you may have already heard it. It completely changed my life...From C.S. Lewis in his sermon, The Weight of Glory: "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."Lately I have been considering this idea- that perhaps the most superior motive for self-denial is hunger for God. I firmly believe the idea that we must drink from somewhere. We must get our "daily dose" of pleasure, so to speak. It seems we all seek pleasure and that's not wrong. What's wrong is when we seek it from an ungodly source. What's our source? If we resolve and actually do deny ourselves ungodly pleasures, we are forced, as a deer pants for the water, to seek godly pleasures until we find them. We must get our fill from somewhere! It will make us desperate, and it honors God. In our spirits we declare, "God is my Source!" For He is the Fountain of Living Waters, and He offers His children drink from the river of His delights. It seems that God is not upset with our seeking of pleasure but with our seeking inferior pleasures, for He offers us superior pleasures.

Can Christians Be Happy?Absolutely not! What is this some kind of country club? Where in the world did this heretical teaching come from? We are supposed to be miserable, miserable, miserable!What would the world think of us?Isn't this the very problem we have with the 'easy-believism' of our day?Of course I am KIDDING!In the famous words of Ren and Stimpy:"Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!" :-) Interesting that the 'sackcloth and ashes' was brought up it reminded me of:Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; Mat 6:18 that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee. Paul's 'contentment':Phi 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Phi 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Phi 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I don't know that I really had a point. Just striving to be well rounded I guess. Finding the middle of extremes. Most of all, being who God wants me to be, despite others' opinions.I think you said it all right there Yodi.A sense of wonder is something that I have been contemplating much. To look up at the stars at night and realize just how vast and incredibly awe-full God is...! The hope we have, the things we have yet to see..from what I gather, the most imaginative concept of what is to come is but a mere drop in the bucket compared to the reality that awaits.Been sitting on this one for a few and seems a good place for it:Past Faults There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.--ROMANS 8:1 IT may be that recollections of the past hinder you, but you must reject them; anxious thoughts may arise, put them away; your faults seem to raise up a barrier, but no past faults can separate a loving heart from God.--H. L. SIDNEY LEAR Do not scrutinize so closely whether you are doing much or little, ill or well, so long as what you do is not sinful, and that you are heartily seeking to do everything for God. Try as far as you can to do every.thing well, but when it is done do not think about it; try rather to think of what is to be done next. Go on simply in the Lord's way, and do not torment yourself. We ought to hate our faults, but with a quiet, calm hatred, not pettishly and anxiously. We must learn to look patiently at them, and win through them the grace of self-abnegation and humility. Be constant and courageous, and rejoice that He has given you the will to be wholly His.--ST. FRANCIS DE SALES ------------------------------From the excellent "Random Article" section.Mary Wilder Tileston

Christians should be the most joyful people alive! The way I've looked at this issue for a long time is like this. Happiness is temporal, Joy is eternal. Happiness is something that can be taken away, Joy is something that only goes when we allow it to because of our sin.I experienced revival for the first time 9 years ago. When I came to the meetings we were having I started out as a bitter, angry, unforgiving, discontent, confused baby Christian. No matter what I did, no matter how much happiness I experienced, my life had a contant undertone of bitterness. When God set me free from all of that, when I repented of my sins of bitterness anger and malice and understood forgiveness for the first time--from that point on JOY was the undertone of my life. There have been seasons where this has not been so, but when that happens, I know that my own sin is the source of the lack of joy in my life. What I have learned is that if we are dependent on our circumstances, our relationships, and our pursuits in this world for our feelings of joy or contentment what we will have is a fluctuating, inconsistent, often crushed happiness that when absent we begin to question God's goodness. If, however, our contentment and joy are based and focused on God, His Word, and His abiding Holy Spirit, we will never have to be let down because all of these are eternal and can never be taken away from us (except perhaps the Word of God if we only have it on paper and not hidden in our hearts). If we lack joy, we can ask God to show us what we are doing that is inhibiting His joy being full in us and then repent of and forake that which has robbed us of our joy, and receive anew the joy of our salvation. Our joy can also be made even more full when we serve others for Christ's sake.Contentment is certainly a huge element in the continuance of our joy. "For I have learned in whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content." (Phil. 4:11b) That means that if we are seeing life from an eternal perpective, nothing can take our joy or contenment away because no matter what happens in our life we know that God has a bigger purpose and plan for us. Is there room for grief in the Christian life? Most certainly, the Lord Jesus wept and had grief, yet even in the midst of sorrow there is joy in the Lord.James tells us to have joy in the midst of trials and tribulations. Paul commands us to rejoice, rejoice always, and again I say rejoice--for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Another huge element of our continuing joy is having a grateful, thankful spirit. If we are thankful to God in all things (not for all things, but in all things,) we can be sure that our joy will remain even in the worst possible circumstances. When various trials come our way, we must be like blameless Job and say "The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord"! Do a word search on Joy in the New Testament. It is in there upwards of 60 times. So, can a Christian be Happy? Yes certainly, but not all the time, and happiness is a fleshly emotion rather than a fruit which produces spirit controlled emotion. Can a Christian be joyful? It is one of the marks (fruit) of a true believer, so if we do not have any joy we are either severely backslidden, mistaught, or lost! By His Grace,meghan

RAHMANThanks for your comment on joy and your "P.S." about praying for me.TODDVery enlightning comment about seeking pleasure in the right things. I especially like the line "It seems that God is not upset with our seeking of pleasure but with our seeking inferior pleasures, for He offers us superior pleasures."CRSSCHK[laughs] Nice humor! And thanks for reminding me of the oh so infinite wisdom of Ren and Stimpy. (Honestly never watched that show.) Great points about contenment and awesome quotes from H.L. Sidney Lear and St. Frances De Sales. I'm writin' them in my journal.REPENTERThank you for your comments on contentment and joy as well.What all of you said was really encouraging. Thanks for your input.

I cannot believe the happiness I feel. I was crying the other night on the phone as I was talking with my boyfriend, I was trying to reveal to him where I stood with Christ so he could understand. He said, "Quit crying baby, calm down." I told him, "Honey, I am happy, these are tears of joy, God has given me freedom from self!" This is the happiness and joy that I feel we all should have! We dive into the freedom and blessings of God willingly and give ourselves over to Him! This brings me enumerable joy!

Yes or the minute before.he loves us, then there is the God who knew us before the world was made. what a guy and to know that he choose us and we didn't pick him. wow!!!

Just ran across this passage from Spurgeon and thought it was relevant, at least to something I mentioned earlier."Job's desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation. The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveller turns from his empty skin bottle, and betakes himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth-born hopes, and cries, 'O that I knew where I might find my God!' Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator, as when we learn the emptiness of all besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth's hives, where we find no honey, but many sharp stings, we rejoice in him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize God's presence with us. Only let us enjoy his smile, and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for his dear sake."-Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions, Evening November 19