Allow me to explain myself. Happiness is a base emotion, a topical feeling that we experience for just a moment and then it’s gone. God doesn’t want you to just be happy, he wants you to be joyful. Joy comes from God alone, it is a deep-seated, fulfilling feeling and satisfaction comes with it.
… Bear with me, it’s 1:15pm here and I just woke up. You wouldn’t believe the day I had yesterday. Anyway, God wants us to have joy, not happiness. The word happy is used only 25 times in the Bible, whereas the word joy is used 155 times. Joy is of God, joy is by the Holy Spirit, joy is through Christ Jesus.
Happiness is here today and gone tomorrow, no matter how good it feels at the time, it doesn’t last. God doesn’t want happy children, He wants joyful children. In the Bible, happiness is a result of something, example: happy is he that doeth this, or happy is he that has done this. But joy is a condition; people become happy, but people live joyful.
Joy brings peace, hope, satisfaction, and life. Happiness brings only fleeting enjoyment and false fullfillment. Happiness doesn’t last, joy is forever. God doesn’t want you to be happy, He wants what’s best for you, He loves you, He wants you to have His joy and to glory in Him.
I know this was short, but maybe that will help you to get this message. The world gives happiness because it is a human emotion, we respond to situations with happiness. The only thing wrong with that is that we can only be happy when things are good. We can be joyful in the midst of trials because joy comes from God, and God is always there; in the good times and bad we can have joy.
As always, thanks for reading.
–the anonymous novelist
the anonymous novelist 