God's Will for You is Happy!
Paul here says something wonderful: God's will for you is happy!
Too many Christians think that God's will for them must be contrary to their every desire, full of suffering, sacrificial and even unhappy in its entirety. They even second guess every decision they make because the happy decision must be the wrong one. But that's simply not what scripture says! In Romans 12:2, Paul uses a profound greek word to describe the will of God: euareston.
Euareston is a compound word from eu and areston. The prefix eu means: good, well, normal, happy, and pleasing. For example, we see this prefix used when the Father speaks affirmation over Jesus in Mark 1:11: "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The phrase well pleased is eudokia in the greek, using that same eu prefix to emphasize God's extreme pleasure and happiness. Areston also means pleasant and satisfying, so when Paul pairs these two words together, he's expressing an amazing magnitude of happiness. An expanded translation of this section of Romans 12:2 might be:
God's will for you is extremely happy, pleasant, and fully satisfying!
How wonderful God is! Yes, you will face trials and difficult times, but you can face them with incredible joy knowing that God's will for you is truly good... and happy!
Created about 1 year ago
