We often fall into the trap of believing that God is not happy. Rather we portray Him as a cosmic killjoy in the sky who never laughs or experiences joy.
According to author Randy Alcorn, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. While God is holy, He is also happy.
“I’m all in favor of holiness, but we’ve got a lot of holiness words, so let’s not take the happiness words and turn them into holy words. God is indeed called ‘the happy God’ and that is revolutionary when people get that meaning.”
If we say God isn’t a happy God, then we say that we are the inventors of things such as laughter.
“Why do we even have a sense of humor? Well, it’s because we are made in God’s image. If we’re made in God’s image, that’s where we get these components of personality, joy, and delight.”
If something isn’t from God then it has to come from somewhere else?
“What’s the alternative? Do we get them from Satan? Do we get them from a process of human evolution?”
The survival of the fittest mentality that seems to be the natural response is completely contrary to the nature of joy and happiness which is always God-centered and other-centered.
“In the Bible you see rejoicing and also great care for the needy and the poor, and helping them, but this isn’t coming from Satan, this comes from God, our desire to be happy, our capacity to laugh and experience joy is from the Lord.”
Randy Alcorn has served as a pastor for fourteen years. He has a Bachelor of Theology and Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Multnomah University and an Honorary Doctorate from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. A New York Times bestselling author, Randy has written over fifty books, including , , and the Gold Medallion winner .
Key Scriptures: Psalm 30:11-12; Isaiah 52:17
Featured Songs: I Found My Joy by Free Worship; Beautiful Day by Jamie Grace; Your Love Awakens Me by Phil Wickam
The God of happiness
