If God wants me happy and I’m not, then God failed.

*God doesn’t want you happy if it causes you to sin. (I Peter 1:15, Romans 6:1-2) Consider this: if Hannah has a piece of candy and Grace steals it from her, Grace will be happy and Hannah will not. But, Grace sinned to get that happiness, so she is not truly happy (especially when she has to give back the candy and go to her room.)

*God doesn’t want you happy if the happiness is driven by circumstance. (Ecc. 7:14) Like the prodigal son in pursuit of happiness, most people become miserable. He asked for his inheritance and then blew it. Did it make him happy – for a while until he was broke and living with pigs. Did you ever see a person who gave up on a marriage and quit it? Or quit a job they didn’t like? You ask, ‘Are you happy now?’ and they respond, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m much happier.’ And sometimes we say, ‘Well, good that’s all that matters.” Is it all that matters? Is being happy no matter how we got there what God wants for us? Can we learn lessons when we’re not happy?

**God wants you more than happy, He wants you blessed. From the Greek-Makarios meaning supremely blessed, or more than happy. Can God bless you with a job or bless you by taking away the job? Can He bless you with good health or is cancer a blessing. If cancer make you hunger and thirst for His face, then yes. The verse in I Peter says this:
15 But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. It doesn’t say He called you to be happy, so be happy in all you do; it says be holy in all you do.

What does Paul tell us in Phil.? He tells us the secret to being happy: 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. True happiness comes from the heart as an outpouring of love from the joy that Jesus gives you. You are blessed in spirit and you respond by acting holy, not holier than thou, but approaching God with a fear and reverence and awe.

So, God wants you more than happy, He wants you blessed. He wants you to find strength through Him in everything that happens to you; whether it’s being given to you or taken away from you.

Ecclesiastes 7:14
14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.

We had a nice day today. It’s been sprinkling and cold, high 39. The mountains are getting 5-10 inches of snow, good for them. We went over to a friends’ house after church and had pizza and watched the bears lose, but they gave a really great try in the last few minutes of the game. (Much better than the Broncos last time.)

The Rockies should be on deck at 6:30 pm. It’s still sprinkling off and on and about 40 degrees, but I don’t think they’ll call the game on account of weather, the Rockies should be used to playing in weather like this. So, hopefully I’ll add another square tonight or tomorrow morning because we’ll SWEEP the D-backs, not that I’m a deranged fan or anything. (Because I won’t be throwing beer bottles at my own field!)