It seems that society more and more is promoting "happiness" as the ultimate moral metric.  If something makes one happy, then it is good.  If something makes someone unhappy, then it is bad.  Of course Satan is behind this, as it has gotten to the point, even with many in the SDA Church, that "good" = "bad", and "bad" = "good".  God has told us that when this situation becomes prevalent, he will step in and take action.  Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"

But, as with most everything that Satan perverts, there is some truth in this.  Of course God wants us to be happy.  His ideal was that we would never have known sin, so never would have even wondered what unhappiness is, let alone experience it.  Heaven for sure will be a happy place for all of eternity!

So what is it that makes one happy?  And what is it that makes God happy?

I read an article this week showing that two people placed in basically the same circumstances, can experience totally different feelings.  I've seen that in my life too, with my cousin breaking his neck at age 18, and turning from being the pastoral-leader in his high school class, to basically being angry at God until the rest of his life.  Then there is the very similar example of a man in Japan who wasn't even Christian when he had the same kind of accident, yet he has tremendous peace and happiness now, and is known all over Japan as the happy Christian man who got his neck broken.

Can you "will" yourself happy?  Is that even desirable?