Is God Happy?

 Is God Happy?

 

The LORD’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

PSALM 147.11

 

They will be my people, and I will be their God. . . . I will find joy doing good for them.

JEREMIAH 32.38, 41

 

Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.

HEBREWS 12.2

 

Have you noticed that some people seem to smile all the time? They seem to be naturally happy. And then there are others who seem to have been given the grumpy gene. You’d be shocked to see them break out in a toothy grin.

How about God? Do you think he is strained and serious, with a furrowed brow, always a little annoyed? Or do you think of him with a smile on his face, full of contentment and joy? And if God is happy, what makes him that way?

God has many reasons to be happy. First, he is happy because he finds pleasure in just being himself. It is as if he looks in the mirror and is happy about what he sees. He loves the glory of his own nature — the infinite beauty of all he is and all he does. When he saw his reflection in Jesus, who “radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God” (Heb 1.3), he said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” (Mt 3.17).

God is happy because he has the power to do as he pleases and because everything he does is right and good. Nothing can frustrate his happiness. God is so happy that his happiness spills out on us in the form of mercy. He showers goodness on us because he enjoys it. His greatest happiness is to share his happiness with us. We experience his overflowing happiness when we accept that everything we need to be happy is found in him. “The LORD’s delight is in those who . . . put their hope in his unfailing love.”