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God is interested in our Happiness – Not just our Holiness.

In the last article, I started sharing about happiness and that God has paid for it. We established that happiness is not a state of being; rather, it is a state of mind. A person can be happy when everyone and everything around them is in complete turmoil. True happiness and contentment is not dependent upon our circumstances. Therefore, we asked the question, “How do we acquire happiness?” And, we established the first step towards being happy. We need to deal with what’s on the inside.

Most people today take a different approach and only deal with what’s on the outside. They focus on praying for no problems in their lives. However, the Bible says: “As long as we are in this world, we will have problems”. (John 16:33)  If you never bump into the devil, it’s because you’re going in the same direction. When you turn around and start swimming upstream, you will always encounter resistance. You cannot always control what goes on outside, but you can totally control what goes on inside when faced with that resistance. Understanding this, you will be on your way to eliminating grief in your life.

Secondly, one of the most liberating things in the world is to love someone else more than your self.  When the one you love more is God, you will rejoice when He is glorified, even if that happens through your suffering. In the Bible, Paul said that all his suffering had furthered the kingdom of God.  In Philippians 1:12-14 we find that Paul loved God and the furtherance of His kingdom more than he loved himself. What a great attitude! We would do well to adopt it.  If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you make a very small package. And, therein lays the number one obstacle to contentment and happiness.

Most people are addicted to self - like addicts are to drugs. They are never satisfied.   This self-centered dissatisfaction is Satan’s greatest open door for temptation. He used self-interest to tempt Adam and Eve, even though they lived in a perfect world without a single problem. “4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:4-5)  The devil tempted Eve with being dissatisfied with what they already had. Even Jesus’ disciples weren’t satisfied with Him. “⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” (John 14:8)  We can never truly satisfy self - We just have to deny it. We have to die to self and place God and others ahead of self.

The third step is knowing that God loves us and understanding His love.

God is a good God! He isn’t mad at us. He not only loves us, He likes us! He will never leave us nor forsake us, no matter how badly we mess up. His mercies are new every morning! Our sin does not affect His opinion of us, nor does it cause Him to withhold His blessing. Great is His faithfulness!

These are very radical statements! Just think about the typical Christian teaching concerning God today. Usually, God is represented as stern and angry, ready to get us for. This is wrong, and it leads to wrong conclusions and attitudes toward God that hinder an intimate relationship with Him. So, why is the Lord represented so harshly? The answer can be found in the lack of understanding of the harmony between the Old and New Testament.  In the Old Testament, the Lord vented His anger and judgment often, and in devastating ways. There was Noah’s flood; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; a death angel sent to kill all the firstborn of Egypt in one night; and on and on the list goes. There is no doubt our God is a holy God who hates sin and demands justice. However, in the New Testament, there is also the image of God that Jesus painted through His teachings and actions. He showed mercy to the worst of sinners, associated with harlots, loved the unlovely, and His ultimate action of dying for our sins proved beyond any doubt that He came to save the world, not condemn it.

How does this fit in with the Old Testament view of the harshness and severity of God? Is God schizophrenic? Does He sometimes love us and other times hate us? How can we have a healthy relationship with someone who changes His moods frequently?

These questions present a dilemma that has kept many people at arm’s length from the Lord. The vast majority of people KNOW there is a God; they just don’t know how to relate to Him. They are confused because many times the only answer they get to these questions is “don’t ask questions –God is sovereign and who are you to question him.”

A minister will say that it was the Lord, in His sovereignty, who killed a baby; and in the next breath, will ask if anyone wants to serve this GOOD GOD. We are told that God won’t answer the prayers of anyone in sin, and yet we are told that we all have sinned. Where does that leave us? Without a prayer! There is a simple answer to these questions, and a harmony between the wrath and mercy of God.

God is not schizophrenic. There is one, true nature of God clearly represented in the Word, and that is LOVE!

1 John 4:8 says,“God is love.”  He does not just love at times - Love is the nature of God! Jesus gave us the greatest representation of the true nature of God ever presented.  God placed our sins on Jesus and punished Him in our place. God satisfied His own demands for justice, not by punishing us, but by punishing His Son in our place. This wasn’t a partial payment which required adding our holiness; it was a total payment that leaves us with nothing to do except believe and receive, or doubt and do without. In the next article, I will continue to expand on the Goodness of God.

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Watch the teaching on youtube at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbK7CJCwPkM&feature=feedlik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbK7CJCwPkM&feature=feedlik