It was back in 1994 that a new book personally impacted me. Happiness Is A Choice, co-authored by Christian psychologists Frank Minirth and Paul Meier. I think I had always believed the assertion implied in the book title, but I had never read anything in print that actually documented and developed the idea.
John Ortberg writes, “We will not understand God until we understand this about him: God is the happiest being in the universe.”
Joy is God’s basic character. Joy is God’s eternal destiny of choice for all of us. Jesustold his friends that his aim was that they should be filled with joy, but not just any kind of joy: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” [John 15:11] The problem with people, according to Jesus, is not that they are too happy, but that we are not happy enough.
Lewis Smedes puts it this way: “To miss out on joy is to miss out on the reason for your existence.” C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” The apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” The Bible puts joy in the non-optional category. Joy is a command. Joylessness is a serious sin, one that professed religious people are particularly prone to indulge in. It is the sin most tolerated in the church.
Pray with me… Father God, Your Words speaks of a ‘joy that is inspired by the Holy Spirit.’ We pray for that joy to show itself in our lives, in the moments when we are front and center and the moments when we are backstage, in our shining moments and in our unguarded moments. We pray for this grace of joy. The fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives that will attract others to the Lord of Joy, Jesus… in His name we pray, amen.
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