Java with Juli: #297: Finding Freedom in the Midst of Brokenness
Java with Juli: #533 Why It Feels Impossible To Beat Your Sin
Full Transcript
Some people wonder, does God want me to be happy?
You know, I think to answer that question, we have to understand what we mean by happy. You know, happy is sort of that state of enjoying life, of feeling good about things. And often it’s circumstantial. It means life’s working for us. And when we read the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, Jesus actually tells us to make choices that make our current circumstances sometimes less happy or less enjoyable. He asks us to say no to things that in the moment which seem to make us happy. He actually says that anyone who follows after me is going to face persecution, rejection. That doesn’t sound like happiness.
What God actually wants for us is joy. Joy is lasting. It doesn’t go away. It’s like the difference between weather and the climate. So the weather might be good one day or bad one day, rainy or sunny. The climate is steady, it stays the same across time, and that really is more what God has for you.
Now, what we need to realize is God, like a good parent, understands that sometimes we need to be unhappy in order to build joy. Let me give you an example. So I’m a mom of three young adults now, but when they were kids, sometimes they would want something like a cookie or they’d wanna stay up past their bedtime. And if I gave them everything they wanted, they’d be happy in the moment, but actually it would be detrimental to the joy in the long run. And so God knows that sometimes He brings discipline into our life or asks us to say no to things that in the moment might make us happy in order for us to develop the kind of joy, the kind of character, the kind of patience that’s gonna be longstanding. And so keep your eyes on that, even if you’re walking through a season of time or it seems like God is taking away your happiness.
