Can You Imagine?
….if the nations of the earth lived in the awareness that God is in a good mood? Would we see fewer wars? Less poverty? Less immorality? I believe so. After all, it’s the kindness of God that leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4).
I remember when I first started discovering how happy God really is. It lifted a weight off my shoulders that I hadn’t even realized was there. When you’re walking around knowing that God has a smile on His eternal face, it changes your heart and attitude.
Quotes like these from John Piper began to open my eyes:
“Jesus Christ is the happiest being in the universe. His gladness is greater than all the angelic gladness of heaven. He mirrors perfectly the infinite, holy, indomitable mirth of His Father.”
Jesus said that when we “know” the truth, we will be set free. God is in a good mood—and sadly, most human beings don’t “know” it. Deep down, they believe God is mostly disappointed with them. Walking around believing that God is angry with you is a surefire way to live a depressed and self-defeating life. That’s more pressure than we were ever created to bear.
But if what A.W. Tozer said is true, we might have to rethink everything:
“God is not only pleased with Himself, delighted with His own perfection and happy in His work of creating and redeeming, but He is also enthusiastic. There is an enthusiasm in the Godhead, and there is enthusiasm in creation… This infinite God is enjoying Himself. Somebody is having a good time in heaven and earth.”
How We View God Matters.
Jesus came to earth to remind us what God is really like:
A Father who throws parties when we come home.
A God who lays down His life for His creation.
A Savior who heals and forgives all.
The Scandal of the Gospel
It is from this happy God that the most amazing news comes:
We are righteous, blameless, perfect, and in union with God—through no effort of our own (see 2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 10:14; John 14:20). God has done something remarkable on our behalf.
It’s one thing to say, “God is happy.” It’s another to say that this happy God died for us, completely set us free, filled us—and we had nothing to do with it. It’s really that last part that feels most scandalous. What do you mean, “It has nothing to do with us?”
What I mean is:
“God credits righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6).
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21).
If God is in a good mood but still leaves salvation partly up to us, then we really don’t have good news after all. If you leave even 0.0000001% of the gospel up to us, we’ll surely mess it up. How do I know? Because I’ve tried!
I’ve done 40-day fasts. I’ve prayed five hours a day. I’ve read the whole Bible. I’ve sold everything I had and went to live with the poor. I’ve taken in orphans and visited widows. Whatever the most radical thing you can think of—I’ve done it. (Except martyrdom, of course.)
And here’s the honest truth about all of those things:
They didn’t bring me closer to God.
They didn’t make me more righteous.
They didn’t make God happier than He already was.
Sure, God may experience joy when we live sacrificially. But that doesn’t mean He was sad or upset with me before I did those things.
The truth is, God was already happy with me before I did all that.
What Do You Mean, “God Is Happy With You”?
I mean God is happy with me.
I know, that’s hard to hear. We’ve been so conditioned to think in terms of, “God will be happy with me if I do A, B, and C first.”
But when I say God is happy with me, I’m saying:
- God is happy with me because I’m a creature He created, and He did a good job (see Psalm 139).
- God is happy with me because He is a happy God in the relationship of the Trinity, and I’m simply receiving the overflow of that joy (see Psalm 16:11).
- God is happy with me because He has washed me clean in His blood, and I’m a new creation—one with Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).
What About the Warnings?
What about the New Testament warnings, the hard sayings of Jesus, and the second coming of Christ?
They still matter. But we need to read them in light of how good God is.
Take Galatians 5:19–21, for example:
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
When I read passages like this, I don’t write them off. I see them as the warnings of a good Father.
Imagine me and my son playing in the backyard, swimming in the pool, enjoying one another. But there’s a beehive on the side of the house. In the midst of our joy, I give him a stern warning: “Don’t go over there. You’ll get stung, and it will hinder your joy.”
That’s how I read the warning passages. They’re not there to kill our joy—but to protect it and keep us in it.
Yes, God corrects us when we act outside of our true “child-of-God” character. And if we persist in pride or harmful behavior, there may be consequences. But even then, it doesn’t negate the work of Christ or change how God sees us.
He still sees the “true you.” He continues to call out the gold in you and rejoice in who you really are—even as He corrects and refines. And again, any correction is for the sake of joy.
The Second Coming and the Joy Set Before Us
When it comes to the second coming, we should be filled with hope.
“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
—Hebrews 9:28
He already dealt with sin at His first coming. At His return, He will bring the fulfillment of our salvation. We already possess salvation now, but we will experience it in full when He comes again.
And what about those who don’t yet know Jesus? That’s where the warnings come into play again. God wants everyone to accept the invitation—to join the celebration and experience His joy. He died for the whole world. That’s why we preach the gospel and show people the love and healing power of God.
We hope all people will receive the happiness of the Father. For those who refuse, God’s warnings remain. But ultimately, we trust Him with the outcome.
Clap Your Hands
Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth.
—Psalm 47:1–2
God is in a good mood, and He wants everyone to know it.
If you look at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was pointing us to a good Father. We should do the same.
We are not orphans. The Father is inviting us home—to His happy house, where there is music and dancing (Luke 15:25). You may still struggle to believe God is this good—and that’s okay. I’ve been experiencing the joy of God for 15 years, and I still need reminders all the time.
Sometimes we forget. We slip back into thinking God is mostly mad or sad toward us. But it’s not true. He is a God of delight, who created a garden of pleasure (Eden) for us in the beginning. And though we sinned and fell away, He died to bring us back. His joy is restored in us.
Lord, help us to accept how good You are. Help us to be like little children who simply enjoy Your goodness each and every day. Wake us up from our slumber and remind us that we are Peter Pan—and that we can fly.
Jesus, each one of us is Your happy thought, and You are ours.
You’re happy and we know it—we clap our hands!