God's Plans for You

 The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote, "Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." If you look on social media today, most people may not express it that way - but that's definitely how they live. The choices they make, their decisions, what they value – it's all about the end goal of making themselves happy.

So how do we make ourselves consistently happy? And is the 'happiness' that the world seeks the same as 'happiness' for someone who follows Jesus? I've heard preachers and other believers who agree that God just wants His children to be happy. And 'happiness' certainly sounds like a good thing to me - I want to be happy. But is there a scriptural basis for that point of view? Is God's top priority for you...

I. Just to be happy?

I read a blog from a Christian motivational speaker who shared several Bible verses that she claimed proved that God wants us to be happy. She shared...

Psalms 144:15 (KJV)

Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

I also found a preacher who shared...

Psalms 37:3-4 (NIV)

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. (4) Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The preacher saw this verse as a 'command' to be 'happy' - that phrase, 'delight yourself in the Lord'. So do those verses prove that God wants us to be happy? God created all of 'this' around us to benefit us. He made vast oceans and incredible mountains and an endless variety of foods and things which we can enjoy. Obviously our happiness is a concern to God - but is it His chief concern? Does God want me to be happy? Well - yes, and... maybe no?

Some look at passages like the ones we just read and focus on the parts that talk about 'happiness' and 'delight' - but gloss over the parts that say 'whose God is the LORD' and 'Delight yourself in the LORD'. The point being, serving God and happiness should go hand in hand - but the problem comes when a person is simply pursing happiness rather than God.

According to scripture, it's not that God doesn't care about your personal happiness – but He's not most concerned with making you happy, healthy or even comfortable - but about making you holy. And many times that requires Him to challenge us, our thoughts - our plans and desires.

For example – I've seen many people break their marriage vows because they believed that God was most concerned with their happiness. Times get rough, which all marriages will have at one time or another, no specific betrayal or abuse occurs, people 'fall out of love' and they decide they aren't happy anymore. "God wouldn't want me to stay in a situation where I'm unhappy, right?" But for a marriage to work, 'your uninterrupted happiness' can't be your end goal. - If faithfulness is your end goal, happiness can and will follow.

God's primary desire is not for my happiness, but for...

A. Me to be faithful

And the problem comes when we see 'happiness' and 'faithfulness' as opposed to each other. For the believer - it shouldn't be a choice between happiness and faithfulness. Look at the story of Paul and Silas in the Bible. There we have two men who were preaching the Good News of Jesus, who were doing what they are supposed to be doing and they ended up being thrown in jail. Since they were serving God and doing the right things – why did God allow them to be jailed?

Because God was not primarily concerned with their happiness about any given situation; He was more concerned with their faithfulness. But they then demonstrated their faithfulness by happily singing praise to God even when they were in chains. They didn't focus on themselves or their circumstances or their wants, but on God.

Being a faithful Christian has nothing to do with whether you ever face hard times – you will face hard times – it's how you respond to those hard times. Repeatedly in scripture, we're told that following Jesus will bring a price in this life. Jesus never promised that once you gave your life to Him that everything would be easy, or that we would never have hardships or pain or sadness or opposition.

Happiness is not the end goal of our pursuit, but comes by giving God His proper place as Lord! If God's highest goal was our happiness – why would the Apostle Peter write this in 1 Peter 4:12-14 (NIV)...

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. (13) But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (14) If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Faithful Christians stay faithful to Christ and His teachings no matter their feelings or circumstances. I'm not talking about perfection. All of us still sin even after we've given ourselves to Jesus. What I'm talking about is – despite the hard times, despite the opposition, despite the stumbles, despite any persecution – one who is a faithful Christian will be found standing firm in the end. And that will lead to true happiness.

And in order for me to be faithful to Jesus and His teachings, there may actually be times where God…

B. May want me to be unhappy

A friend of mine shared that at a minister's meeting, a preacher asked the question, "How do you preach grace to a culture that knows no guilt? I stated that happiness and faithfulness are not mutually exclusive. However, it's pretty hard to feel both happiness and shame at the same time. No one likes to feel shame or guilt - but it is the appropriate feeling when you go against the Creator of the Universe…

God doesn't want you to be happy when it causes you to do something against His will. God doesn't want you happy when it's based on following the world - this world is not all there is! God's purpose isn't to make you happy but to make you more like Jesus! And that requires us to change! Jesus gave His life for you! Jesus gave everything for you; to make a way for YOU back to the Father. - But becoming more like Jesus requires us to surrender our will to His.

Sometimes God doesn't want us 'happy' but 'uncomfortable' to get us to change, to 'repent', to follow Him. And sometimes - even if we are seemingly doing everything right - God allows us to go through hard times to learn more about who God is and to grow in a deeper relationship with Him. But I may not be happy about the hard times

For my family, the past three years have been inundated by Dr.'s visits and dozens of trips to Indy and Cincinnati. We've seen therapists and specialists and heads of medical programs - it's been overwhelming.

I thought I knew what stress was – I did not. 'Happy' is not a word I would use to describe myself for quite awhile now. These have been the hardest times in my family and marriage. Oh yeah, and we were also dealing with that little global pandemic... I've repeatedly begged God to change my situation.

God doesn't always give us what we want, for whatever reason. But God is still good. And He wants us to trust Him, and to be faithful even when it doesn't make sense or even if it temporarily makes you very 'unhappy'. His ways are higher than my ways.

I have a tendency to look around and feel like, 'why me'? There are plenty of people in this world who outright reject God and they seem to be doing pretty good! But I want to go back again to one of the first passages we looked at, but I want to add a few verses for context…

Psalms 37:1-4 (NIV)

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; (2) for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. (3) Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. (4) Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

When I'm in one of those 'unhappy' seasons – I have to trust God! But that only happens if we allow ourselves to be changed; if we focus on God and His plans rather than on our own plans or circumstances! If anyone thinks that God is simply about their happiness, they haven't read the Bible very closely. The Bible teaches that…

II. We are here for God

- Not the other way around. You were created for God's purposes and pleasure, and He is a just God and will work things out for good for those who love and trust him! Paul wrote this about Jesus…

Colossians 1:15-18 (NIV)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (17) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (18) And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

The Bible says - the only reason I exist is because Jesus wills that I exist. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the force that holds everything in the universe together. The very molecules that make up our bodies, everything is held together by Him! God sustains us! When we fall ill, God decides whether these bodies can be healed or whether their purpose in this life is over. Understanding our utter dependence on God requires great humility – a quality that's becoming more and more rare these days.

When it comes to any particular subject, any issue, any circumstance, the unfolding of any events - God is not waiting to see what will please me on any given day…

A. God is the focus, not me

This is not a statement of my worth to God! Jesus loves me so much He died for me! But my purpose does not lie in me, but in my relationship with Him! I have to acknowledge God's complete authority as The Creator! I have to boldly acknowledge God's absolute truth – even if most people reject it. This is not about 'what Ron believes' but about what does God's Word say – period.

Romans 12:1-3 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -this is your spiritual act of worship. (2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(3) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Most people outside of the Church, and even some in the Church - think way more highly of themselves than they should.

Many people today reject the idea of absolute truth. "Sure, that might be true for you – but it's not my truth…" "Well, you can believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but that's not my truth…" Truth is not subjective, whether you accept it or not. There are absolutes in this life. And one of them is that Jesus says He has 'all authority'. And He says that He is the only way to Heaven! According to Jesus Himself – not everyone's beliefs are equal; all religions are not equal – according to Jesus.

Now I know that's about the worst, intolerant thing you can say in today's society. But speaking truth is not about judging, or hatred - but truth is truth! And we need to get back to the point – the Church should represent God's authority, not any particular man's thoughts or doctrines or beliefs. The Church is not about popular thought.

The Church was not established to bend to the world's values! God established His Church for the very purpose of standing in the face of the world's values! And the Church has done so since its beginning. God's Church was established in a culture that embraced all sorts of evil and deviant sexual behavior and idol worship and all manner of immorality. We're not facing anything that the Church hasn't faced before!

Many people who claim to have faith still hold beliefs that are in direct opposition to the Bible. And they may say it's because it feels right, or it just makes sense to them. Sure it does – if you don't accept God's authority. We live in a fallen world, corrupted by sin – even our minds needs to be made clear to even think about accepting God's truth…

Taking a bold stand for God's authority is not meant to condemn – but to graciously lead people to salvation in Jesus! And God's authority beats man's opinions. In everything – Christians must wholeheartedly embrace Gods authority, without reservation. Do you want to be happy? Our quest for happiness, in order to be lasting, must focus on…

B. Our future hope!

Our circumstances will change; some days will be good, some will be bad – and some will be really awful. God will allow difficult situations to come into your life. The world will challenge you and your faith. Standing for God's truth is hard. But our lasting happiness is determined by our future hope!

With this perspective, I want to again read 1 Peter 4:12-14 (NIV)...

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. (13) But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (14) If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Understanding God's promise for those who are faithful to Him – that can bring us happiness, no matter what the circumstances are! I may not be 'happy' about my current circumstances, but I can be thrilled knowing that Jesus conquered death so that I can be overjoyed when Jesus returns for me!

So What?

I want to be clear – I'm not saying you have to choose faithfulness over being happy. 'Sorry, you have to be miserable to follow God…' God's plan for you is not just so you can be happy. God's plan for you is to be more than happy! God wants for you to be completely blessed by following His ways. And the way He defines 'blessed' is so much more than just 'stuff' and material things!

Understand, God does want you to be happy – but that will only happen if you follow His ways. I encourage you – don't take my word for it – read your Bible regularly and see the struggles of many of God's faithful ones. When they tried what seemed right to them apart from God's Word – it was always followed by pain and frustration. But those who followed God's ways, even when it was hard, even under great opposition – they were the ones who found genuine joy, despite circumstances.

It is very clear that difficult times, ridicule and genuine persecution is coming for those who speak boldly about God's Truth; those who seek to live out their faith in Jesus. But the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world!