My first answer was naturally yes. There are numerous verses which support the fact that God loves you and wants good things for you (Psalm 84:11, James 1:17, Psalm 37:4, Matthew 7:11). Just this cursory sweep of scriptures tells me that God does indeed delight in seeing you happy. Nevertheless, I think we very often fall into the trap of thinking that “being happy” and “getting what I want” are exactly the same thing, when in fact they aren’t. We all want things which are very often contrary to our best interests. Like a loving parent who refuses to feed their child a steady diet of ice cream and candy, our heavenly Father is oftentimes forced to deny us the things we so earnestly desire, not because he’s vindictive or unhappy with our performance, but simply because he knows that’s not what’s actually best for you. Sometimes wanting what’s best for your child means saying “no” quite a bit.
Sometimes your breakthrough is totally impossible without the preceding pain. Back when the aviation community was still relatively young, there was a prevailing theory that the sound barrier was in fact an impenetrable force that couldn’t be broken through by any man-made aircraft due to the incredible air pressures which buffeted the aircraft as they approached it. Many pilots had unsuccessfully tried throughout Word War II to get beyond Mach 1, but it was not until Chuck Yeager came along in 1947 that it was proved once and for all that once you breach the “barrier” of compressed air, you can soar at supersonic speed.
Many of you may remember that I started my writing spree with a post about being miserable. Misery and seemingly-meaningless toil are some of the greatest hallmarks of God’s refinement process for our souls. Just ask Moses, Joseph, Joshua and Caleb, and even Jesus himself as he wandered hungry in the wilderness for forty days. Your happiness is very often antithetical to your success in life. Happiness runs the great risk of breeding complacency. If you have everything that you want in life, then what motivation do you have to improve yourself or your situation?
Remember, walking in God’s favor doesn’t mean you’ll encounter no resistance, or even that you’ll get everything you ask for. The good news is, if you can just push through the weeks (or sometimes even years) of being slammed around the cockpit, eventually you will breach the barrier and begin to truly fly.