“God just wants me to be happy.” It sounds right, but is it true? In the final message of our journey through Philippians, Pastor David Payne looks at the difference between what we want and what God is actually concerned about for our lives.
Paul wrote “Always be full of joy in the Lord” from a Roman prison cell, so his joy clearly wasn’t tied to his circumstances. Pastor David names three twisted theologies we can drift into when we make happiness the goal, unpacks what “blessed” really means in the Beatitudes, and points to the secret Paul learned in Philippians 4: contentment in every situation.
Big Idea: Misunderstanding God’s concerns for us confuses our desires with His destiny for us.
Being blessed doesn’t always include immediate happiness. God’s will is rarely safe, painless, convenient, easy, or immediate, but it’s always good. When we lose gratitude for where we are, contentment turns into contempt. Paul’s secret was that he could do all things through Christ who gave him strength, whether he had plenty or nothing at all.
Your feelings often follow what you choose. Choose contentment, and joy will follow.
BIBLICAL REFERENCES
Philippians 4:1-3 (NLT) — Stay true to the Lord; settle your disagreement
Philippians 4:4-5 (NLT) — Always be full of joy in the Lord
Psalm 112:1 (HCSB) — Happy is the man who fears the Lord
1 John 2:15-17 (NLT) — Do not love this world nor the things it offers you
Psalm 97:12 (NLT) — May all who are godly be happy in the Lord
Psalm 128:1-2 (ESV) — Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord
Matthew 5:3-12 (NIV) — The Beatitudes
Philippians 4:10-13 (NLT) — I have learned the secret of living in every situation
1 Peter 1:15 (NIV) — Be holy in all you do
