John 15:9-17
Bubba walked into a doctor's office and the receptionist asked him what he had.
Bubba said, "Shingles." So she wrote down his name, address, medical insurance number and told him to have a seat. Fifteen minutes later a nurse's aide came out and asked Bubba what he had.
Bubba said, "Shingles." So she wrote down his height, weight, a complete medical history and told Bubba to wait in the examining room. A half hour later a nurse came in and asked Bubba what he had.
Bubba said, "Shingles." So the nurse gave Bubba a blood test, a checked his blood pressure, did an electrocardiogram, and told Bubba to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor. An hour later the doctor came in and found Bubba sitting patiently in the nude and asked Bubba what he had.
Bubba said, "Shingles."
The doctor asked, "Where?"
Bubba said, "Outside on the truck. Where do you want me to unload 'em?"
I can promise you Bubba was not a happy camper.
Nobody I know would end the day happy after a day like that.
Which leads me to beg the question, Do you think on an average day you end the day happy?
Are you happy?
As a Christian is this something that you should be striving for?
Let's talk about that for a little bit.
Pray
Let me start by telling you that one of the big misconceptions of Christianity is that God wants us to be happy.
Did you know that there is actually nowhere in Scripture where God promises us happiness or tells us to be happy?
You can look, but it's not there.
Happiness is not something that is promised to us in the Bible.
And I want that to sink in for a minute.
God is not concerned with your happiness.
And right now you're thinking, “this must be one of those times he's going to turn things around and trick us.”
It's not. It's the gospel truth that God is not in the happiness business.
And I know that sounds harsh, but the reason that it sounds so mean is that we don't understand the definition of happiness.
Happiness can be defined as an emotion in which one experiences feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense pleasure.
Well that sounds like something God might want for His kids, right.
But here is the kicker.
Happiness is caused by external events.
You hear me, happiness is caused by external events.
You become happy based upon what is going on around you.
Hitting the lottery makes you happy, having a new car makes you happy, winning an award makes you happy...
Getting a present, having someone say “I love you,” watching tv on your giant television...these things bring happiness.
You see happiness is caused by events or situations or feelings.
Happiness is based upon what is happening to you at that moment in time.
If things are going well, then you are happy.
But since happiness is based upon external events, when things are going poorly then unhappiness sets in.
Happiness is dependent upon the lack of struggles in one's life.
And this is why God doesn't promise happiness, and why He doesn't even ask us to be happy.
Because most of the time, the life of a Christian is not one that would bring tons of happiness.
We are constantly faced with external events or things that have the potential to cause distress and unhappiness in our lives.
We are up against sin and sickness and bills and death and cars breaking down and a thousand other things that make life difficult.
And if God were to promise us happiness, then it would mean that He was promising us a life free from any sort of trial or trouble.
And of course He's not going to promise this to us, He didn't even give this kind of life to his own son.
So know that God is not concerned with your happiness.
Wow, there's an uplifting message for you, but don't worry it's not over because there is something that God is concerned with.
Something that God wants to provide for us and that He wants us to have.
Because although happiness isn't found in Scripture, there is another word that is used quite often and that was found in our Scripture today...and that word is joy.
And Jesus in this section of Scripture tells us that he wants us to have his joy in us.
He says in verse 11, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
God wants us to experience joy, and for us to be joyful.
And no, happiness and joy are not the same thing, they are definitely similar but they have some huge differences.
Joy can be defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.
So they do have some similarities, joy can actually sometimes bring happiness, but here is the difference.
Happiness is caused by external forces, joy is caused by internal forces.
Happiness comes from the outside in, and joy comes from the inside out.
Joy starts on the inside and stems from God's abiding presence in us.
Happiness can be taken away when bad things happen, but since joy comes from the inside out it is unaffected by what is going on outside.
Do you get this?
Joy comes from knowing that God is always with you, that God always loves you, that God will never leave you, that God will always forgive you.
Joy comes from having God's incredible love in your life and inside you.
It comes from the knowledge that no matter what happens out there, nothing can separate you from the love of God.
And when you have joy it means that no matter what is happening out there, you still have peace, and contentment because nothing changed in here.
Sickness and death and financial problems and hurtful things that people have done...they can all take away your happiness in a heartbeat.
But if you stay focused on God in here...then nothing can steal your joy.
Nothing can take away the joy that comes from knowing God, because nothing can change that.
And although God isn't concerned with our happiness, he desperately wants us to be joyful.
He wants us to be people that can smile in the face of trying circumstances because of His love inside us.
He wants us to approach all of the difficulties in life with peace and contentment, and joy because no matter what happens what's out there, nothing can change in here.
So I'm asking you today, are you relying on happiness?
Are you counting on earthly things, on the external things to bring you happiness to your life.
Are you counting on stuff, on good health, on perfect lives to make you feel happy.
Because happiness is fleeting, and it comes and goes with the wind.
Or instead have you decided to accept the joy of Christ into your life?
Have you decided that no matter what happens out there, you will have joy in here because of who God is and how much He loves you?
You will never find happiness in the midst of the rain...but you can have joy in a tsunami if you allow yourself the peace that comes through having God inside you.
Happiness is fleeting, joy is forever.
So take the time to really thank God and appreciate his love in your life, his provision for you, his forgiveness, his salvation.
And let us have joy, no matter what the world throws at us.
