Are you happy as a Christian? Or, would you claim that you’re now happier than you were before becoming a Christian? 

If you ponder the above questions, you would realize that you may struggle with the definition of happiness in itself.

I’ll be publishing a series of articles, starting with this one, to help us figure out what living happy means for us, as Christians. We will also discover four things to help us claim happiness back into our lives, as disciples of Jesus Christ. 

In the following lines, we will look at freedom as the first thing that can help us experience true and biblical happiness as Christians! 

What does then living happy for Christians mean?  

• Living happy for Christians means shifting our focus from what we want to what God wants for us. 
• Living happy for Christians means choosing to take all our worries, fears, doubts, sins and challenges to Jesus Christ. 
• Living happy for Christians means that we depend on God’s Word in our everyday living. 

Those three represent only a few ways to look at what living happy means for us, as Christians. 

Freedom is one step to achieving all the above!

To help us get a sense of what I would like to share next with you, take out your Bible and go to John 8. 

Abide in God’s Word

Read verse John 8: 31-32,

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ESV. 

There are three things that happen, which also allow you to experience God’s freedom in life. As a result, you’ll live happy no matter what you face in life. 

These three things are dependent on you choosing to abide in God’s Word. 

To abide in God’s Word means choosing to do the following: 

• You believe that the Bible is God’s revealed Word. 
• You read and study God’s Word as often as you can. 
• You apply what you learn from God’s Word to your daily life. 
• You share God’s Word with others. 

What I’ve mentioned above represents what you’ve got to be intentional about doing. It’s work, which will require discipline on your part.

But, what happens next, as a result of doing all the above is organic, and will not require any effort on your part. God takes care of the rest.

Here’s what God does in your life next:

• You are truly a disciple of Jesus Christ.
• You know the truth.
• The truth you know sets you free. 

You step into Your Freedom Through Personal Transformation

It is God’s Word that transforms you. 

Read verses 1 through 11 (John 8). 

The story is about a woman caught in adultery. According to the law of Moses, she was to be put to death. The religious leaders, who brought her to Jesus, wanted to put Jesus into a situation, which they could use to condemn Him. 

That, however, would take a different turn. 

Jesus asks them this question: 

Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. John 8: 7. ESV. 

The mistake those leaders made was to bring this woman to Jesus. They didn’t know that it’s in God’s Presence we find freedom!

Eventually, the story ends as follows:  

But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Laws, we find in the Bible, only transform when reading them through the Gospel (Jesus Christ). Jesus is the fulfillment of everything in the Old Testament.

John says that Jesus is the Logos, the Word. Read John 1: 1-2. 

Transformation begins when we meet with Jesus Christ Who is “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12: 2. ESV.). 

You Receive Revelation about God’s Plan for Your Life

In God’s Presence, not only does your personal transformation begins, but you also receive God’s revelation. 

God’s revelation means that you first have clarity. 

Jesus, being the Light of the World (John 8: 12) meets with you and dwells in your heart. Having God’s Light in your life helps you see what you weren’t able to see before. 

• God’s plan becomes so much clearer in your life. 
• You discover most excellent ways to accomplish God’s plan in your life. 
• You know God better than ever. 

Jesus helps you with all that. He is able to do so because He is from above and has been with God, our heavenly Father, forever. Read verses 19, 23-24. 

Transformation Combined with Revelation Set You Free

As you stay connected with Jesus Christ through prayer, Scripture and Christian communion (worship, small groups, Sunday school, youth groups, etc.), you get to know more about yourself too. 

In other words, you discover more truth about you and who you ought to be according to God’s plan for you. 

This truth about yourself will set you free: 

• From slavery to sin. Sin represents any actions, thoughts, and words that break God’s Word. 
• From all lies. These lies may come from forces of darkness (spiritual warfare), your own mind, norms of life established through our culture, and more. 

The truth about you, however, is that you are who God says you are!

In Summary

Living happy comes out of your freedom. And, when you experience this freedom through Jesus Christ, your life depends more on God than anyone or anything else. As a result, you don’t fall for any lies, but live much happier, as a Christian, no matter what you face in life.