Happiness seems to be a character trait, or commodity, that is high on many people’s wish list.  In America, we’ve even been taught that it is one of our “inalienable rights” along with life and liberty — the pursuit of happiness.  Against that backdrop it may seem strange that the Bible seems to say very little about happiness — at least about our version of happiness.

I preached a sermon tonight based out of Matthew 25 with a focus on the statement of the master, “Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Come and share your master’s happiness!”  I have to state up front, as I did in the sermon itself, that I’m not sure why God would have me preach this particular message in public when it is an area that I have struggled with greatly.  I think what it comes down to is that the key to happiness is probably not what we usually think it is and happiness itself likely doesn’t look like what we think it ought to.

The title for this post, and the sermon, came from a song that God stuck in my head the entire week.  It didn’t matter how I felt or my perceived level of happiness, this song kept running through my mind and I would find myself singing it in my heart even when, as the song states, the tears would fall.

“Happiness is to know the Saviour, living a life within His favor, having a change in my behavior, happiness is the LORD!  . . . Real joy is mine no matter if the tear drops start, I’ve found the secret, it’s Jesus in my heart.”

As I meshed the story of the three servants in Matthew 25 and the response of the master to their actions with the first verse and chorus of the song, God gave me the following points to go with the word, “LORD”.

• Happiness is the Learning — The servants who eventually heard the well done and were invited into their master’s happiness were the ones who had “learned” the master.  The song puts it to “know the Saviour”.  Real happiness requires that we put everything we have into pursuit of God.  When we seek him, we will find him when we seek him with our whole heart.  How much desire do I have to know God?  How much effort do I put into learning who God is, how much He loves me, how much He loves people?  Happiness is the learning of who God really is and how much everything real is centered in Him.
• Happiness is the Obedience — The servants who were welcomed into their master’s happiness not only learned the desires and will of the master, they were obedient to it.  The second phrase of the song says, “living a life within His favor”.  It is hard to imagine living in God’s favor without putting serious effort and intent into living obediently to His will and purpose.  Jesus said, “why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do the things that I say?”.  Happiness is living in obedience to God’s will and purpose — a will and purpose that we learn more accurately as we pursue Him wholeheartedly.
• Happiness is the Repentance — The third servant in the story missed out on the welcome into his master’s happiness because he chose to hold onto his belief regarding the behavior and attitude of his master.  He seemed to forget who the master was, who the servant was, and the difference between the two.  The song states that part of happiness is “having a change in my behavior”.  Change in my behavior comes when I repent of doing things my way and according to my understanding and start doing them God’s way and trust Him to have my best interest in mind.  Happiness comes when I repent — when I turn away from my selfish will and desire and turn to fully following God in complete trust.
• Happiness is the Destination — The culmination of my learning, obedience, and repentance is the destination of sharing in my Master’s happiness.  It’s the destination that brings about the real joy that can be present “even when the tear drops start”.  You see, while real happiness comes in what many would consider an unconventional manner — a relationship with Jesus — it also comes in an appearance that doesn’t always look like what people think happiness should be.  Happiness comes when I am secure in my relationship with Jesus and can look forward with great expectation to hearing those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Come and share your master’s happiness!”

I pray that you and I would find true happiness in the LORD!