Should a Christian always be happy? Is it wrong to feel sad if you are a Christian?
Many think that it’s impossible for a Christian to always be happy. That’s because we normally connect happiness with our feelings and emotions, when actually, a Christian should not live his life on the basis of feelings at all, but on the basis of faith!
I can feel sad about the suffering that is in the world. I can be sorrowful because of loss. But, I don’t have to lose my faith and confidence that God’s hand is over my life and that He will cause all things to work together for my very best. (Romans 8:28.) With His power I can overcome anything that would cause me to lose my peace, my hope, my contentment, or the joy in my spirit.
If I’m waiting to feel happy, then maybe I’ll wait forever. But do I have this sure faith that when I’m in God’s hands, then all is as it should be? Isn’t that true happiness? Let’s see what the Bible says: “The person whose help is the God of Jacob—the person whose hope rests on the LORD their God—is truly happy.” Psalm 146:5 (CEB).
What is happiness?
Most people think that happiness is a result of good circumstances, others being nice to me, a beautiful environment, etc. But what if it isn’t that at all? Isn’t it rather a deep foundation of trust in God? A rock on which I can stand, regardless of outward circumstances? That it is a choice I have to make, over and over in life. A choice that I’m not able to make in my own strength, but that I can make by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:20 (GNT): “Trust in the LORD and you will be happy.”
When something painful happens in my life, should I be happy? Or if I have depression or other illnesses? Of course, our human feelings still go up and down, even if we are a good Christian. But if we believe happiness is not an emotion, but a deep, spiritual rest, an unshakeable confidence in God, then we do not lose our happiness, even when our feelings are down.
It’s written in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NLT), “Always be joyful.” That doesn’t mean that I am glad that the painful thing has happened, but I can be glad because I know that I’m in God’s hands regardless of what has happened. To know that I can lean on Him, that He will bear me up and hold me in His hand through the hard times, through the trials, through the sorrows.
Happiness is not a life without any sorrow or grief. Jesus was “a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.” Isaiah 53:3 (GW). But still He was “anointed with the oil of gladness, more than His companions” because He loved what is right and hated what is wrong. (Hebrews 1:8-9.) If I have the same love for what is right and the same hatred for sin that He had, then I also will be glad in my spirit. “But those who do right should be glad and should rejoice before God; they should be happy and glad.” Psalm 68:3 (NCV).
Don’t mistake pleasure for happiness
Happiness isn’t the fulfilment of my natural, human desires. Maybe they give us a very short time of pleasure, but then they lead to emptiness, dissatisfaction, and in the end, misery. Happiness should not be mistaken for pleasure, enjoyment or satisfaction which comes from following one’s selfish desires. It is when I overcome these selfish desires that I get happiness deep in my spirit.
“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them.” Matthew 6:19-20 (CEB).
Knowing that something eternal is waiting for me after a life of faithfulness, even through trials, sorrows, and grief, gives me this deep internal joy that has nothing to do with good “feelings”. I have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:4 (NIV).
Being able to love in a situation that in the past made me angry or bitter brings real gladness into my heart.
Being able to be at peace in a situation where in the past I would have been worried and afraid brings real gladness into my heart.
Being able to turn away from things that used to bind me brings true gladness into my heart.
Being able to serve and give when I used to be lazy and selfish brings true gladness into my heart.