James Randall Robison - God Wants You to Be Happy: Discovering Deeper Joy Than You Ever Imagined

Heres a straight-from-the-shoulder guidebook that avoids the shallows of world-think, anchors to the rock of Gods grace-filled and loving ways, and answers the deep-seated heartcry of innumerable honest men and women, teens and collegians who are seeking lasting fulfillment.

Joy is hugely important in the lives of believers, and this is the perfect manual for finding real happiness.

Randy Robison challenges us to think more deeply about what it means not only to be joyful but also to be happy. The result is a book that will awaken the desire for true happiness in your lifetoday and always!

This book makes war on the age-old heresy that Christians are unhappy people. Redeeming the truth that our God is the author of joy, Robison breathes life again into his readers soul.

We thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is very well written, practical, thought provoking, and relevant. A great resource for a godly view of true happiness.

Having dedicated my life to strengthening marriages, I understand the importance of happiness for couples. This book not only helps people individually but also creates a better foundation for all relationships. In God Wants You to Be Happy, Robison joins godly wisdom with personal insight to create a refreshing guide for living with unconditional joy and happiness.

Is there an unhappy person in your life? This book will help point the way to a place of greater joy.

Negativity and discontent just dont lead us to the lives we desire. Wouldnt we rather just be happy? I would, and I know you would too! Robison shows us we all can possess and express happiness. What an impact this could have on every family, marriage, and individual.

This book has the potential to change a lot of lives! Real happiness can only be found in the light of Christ. This light, implanted into the heart of every believer, longs to consume us and emanate from us. Robison clearly defines the differences between the alluring happiness based on chasing our self-centered, ego-driven, materialistic desires, and happiness based on the light of Christ already within us.

Robison provides an in-depth look at what happiness means in Gods economyhe really has given us a Bible study on the subject. God does want us to be happy in the truest sense of the word. I learned so much and appreciate Randys new insights, his scholastic approach, and his practical applications. If you want to know happiness as God intends it, read this book!

This is a marvelous message for the perilous times in which we live. It is a must read for anyone in pursuit of true happiness.

In troubled times, Robison reminds us that the joy of the Lord isnt just part of a verse to quoteits Gods central plan for our lives. The choice is ours to walk in happiness, and Randy illuminates the steps!

True happiness isnt achieved through selfishness. Rather, it comes from seeking God first and living a life that blesses others. Robison gets that. Im so thankful for a book that reveals how to live with a biblical happiness that not only enriches your own life but also impacts the lives of those around you.

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International VersionNIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

All emphasis in scripture quotations (in italics) is added by the author.

Cover by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

Backcover author photo by Ian Gray

GOD WANTS YOU TO BE HAPPY

Copyright 2012 by James Randall Robison

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Robison, James Randall.

God wants you to be happy / James Randall Robison.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7369-4946-0 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4948-4 (eBook)

1. HappinessReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4647.J68R63 2012

241'.4dc23

2011025154

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 /BP-NI/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

I am blessed by many who choose to give me great joy,

starting with my wife, Debbie, and children, Abbie, Alek,

Aidan, and Audrey. This includes my parents and my sisters

families, the Redmons and Turners, and my friends at the

Met Church and the men of ORUs Youngblood.

G od wants you to be happy. Its a simple idea, but a complicated reality.

About a year after the horrible genocide in Rwanda, I traveled to that hellhole to document the construction of a new orphanage for the television program LIFE Today. I found children who had been maimed, traumatized, and separated from their families. But I also found something unexpected: children who seemed to be genuinely happy. No doubt they had shed many tears and had a few more coming, but most of them were not gloomy, angry, or detached. They played, sang, and enjoyed the company of their fellow orphans.