God longs for His people to live in joy. When He gave Israel the commands in Deuteronomy, He made it clear they were for their well-being: “Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being…” (Deuteronomy 4:40).
The psalmist echoes this truth: “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146:5).
Jesus Himself tells us why He came: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Over and over, Scripture assures us that God is not trying to rob us of joy but to lead us into it.
Yet something deep within us resists this truth. We fear that God does not really want our happiness. It is the same lie the serpent whispered in the garden: “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). Beneath that question was the suggestion that God was holding something back, that He wanted less than the best for His children. That lie has taken root in the human heart, and it undermines our trust in God.
Recently, I came across a question in Author Dan Allender’s writing: Why are we sometimes afraid to experience delight in God? At first, the question seemed strange. Who wouldn’t want delight? But the more I reflected, the more I realized that to open our hearts to delight means opening our hearts to trust. And trust makes us vulnerable. True delight requires surrendering to God’s goodness and believing that He truly wants our well-being.
God invites us to lay down the suspicion that He is holding out on us. He calls us to embrace the truth that only in Him can we find the fulfillment of our deepest longings and the joy our hearts crave. May God give us the grace to trust Him fully, so that we may know the delight, happiness, and life He desires for His children.