When confronted with major challenges and petty annoyances life presents to us, people often ask "Doesn't God want me to be happy?"
My experience, to be honest, is that this question is really a code-phrase for a whole other set of questions such as:
"Doesn't God want me to be able to make more money with less work?"
"Doesn't God want my husband/wife to be more like I want them to be?"
"Doesn't God want my desires to be fulfilled?"
You see, when people talk about happiness, they're usually talking about having things go their way. So, if that's what you mean when you ask "Doesn't God want me to be happy?" then I'm sorry to have to tell you that He doesn't. If the universe was designed with you at the center of it, then you would be God -- and you wouldn't have to ask that question about Him because you'd be Him.
However, this verse in Thessalonians makes it clear that God does want us to rejoice. In fact, it is stated as a command that we rejoice always! And this command is given right in the middle of a passage that also tells us to pray and do good. So, according to the Bible, rejoicing -- which goes beyond just having a pleasant feeling inside and actually implies the active expression of that feeling -- is as much a part of being a Christian as having the right beliefs and avoiding evil deeds.
The difference between the biblical rejoicing referred to in this verse and what people often think of as "happy" is that rejoicing is a consicous act of the will. It is not a feeling that you passively allow to come over you because of external circumstance. It is something you determine to do in the same way as you decide to read your bible or visit someone in the hospital.
I'll go a step further and suggest that the act of rejoicing is probably more akin to what we see people doing when their favorite football team scores a touchdown or they land a business deal they've been working on for weeks. Look at the body language and verbal expressions people use in those situations. Why don't we see more of that in church? Could it be because we aren't really rejoicing over what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do in the days to come?
Let's rejoice! We have been saved from our sin and can look forward to an eternity in the presence of the living God! Oh yeah!!!
