Happiness Hardcover – Unabridged, October 1, 2015

Randy Alcorn does an incredible and thorough job integrating happiness with sincere Christian belief and living. Could satan have created happiness? No, he only twists and distorts what's good and is committed to our unhappiness. So happiness is from God, as is every good and perfect thing. So the question is, not is happiness a good or bad thing, but how you handle it and understand it so you can enjoy maximum happiness without it tipping over into ungodliness. This is the book to give you this understanding and ultimately the freedom to enjoy so many things in their appropriate way.

This book will be most appreciated by those who desire an in-depth look into happiness and joy, the difference between happiness and joy, and settling the age-old debate concerning whether God is happy or wrathful and whether or not He wants His children to be happy.The historical teachings in the church that a Christian should have Joy but That happiness is short-lived and not necessary to the Christian faith is absolutely debunked.I must say that the reader will have to exercise tenacity in sticking to this very extensive treatise that will address the issues of having happiness and joy on equal footing. But, I must say that slowly, through the course of painstaking exactitude in word study, the reader's mind can change in its concepts to realize that Christianity is commensurate wit happiness that prompts smiles, laughs, giggles, and enthusiastic embracing of a good, loving, and happy Father.Being a Cross Bearing Christian, scowling, anticipating a negative encounter with Jesus when He returns, being painfully sacrificial, and not enjoying one's faith are simply lies of the evil one.If you read this book with an open mind, allow a scholarly weighing of truth and error, and let the Holy Spirit guide you into the Living Word of Scripture, you will be changed in your view of God, His Word, and His will for our lives.My wife and I read this book aloud and then prayed. It was a worth endeavor.

I originally got the Happiness book on Audible because I enjoy listening vs reading. However, I really wanted to have the Bible verses quoted accessible, so ordered a hardcopy! Beautiful book, so many reasons to be happy and the company who mailed it added a bonus book, called Happy Church. This delighted me and I'm excited to read this book too. Great value for my money and made the wait to receive it via media mail worth the wait. Thank you. If you're struggling with finding joy or happiness then give this book a go. It helped me after a challenging year - lost my home due to Hurricane Ian, diagnosed with breast cancer, not being able to visit my family in the UK. I was dealing with a lot!

An indescribable life changing book on God's eternal happiness! Once again Randy has written an exhaustive, well written, Scripturally sound book. Again what must be a lifetime of Randy's study. This book is jam packed with Scriptural evidence. It is also jam packed with what the greatest authors, preachers, teachers and Saints, new and old have to say about happiness. I found the multitude of Hebrew and Greek words used for God's happiness and the real happiness God has for each of us astounding. Yes, God is "Happy & Holy" in the most profound sense of meaning of 'each' of these word!

This book is solid Scripturally and uses many quotes from church fathers such as Anselm, Puritans such as Thomas Watson, and modern teachers such as John Piper, C.S. Lewis, and Chesterson. It is a needed subject and very challenging and beneficial to my Spiritual walk. There are practical applications, such as how to be purposeful about your happiness. It does; however, wax a little too long and is almost too encompassing. I found myself rolling my eyes at "another story about his dog" and he goes overboard with quotes and stories. I know why he does this, but the end result is a book that is probably one hundred pages longer than needed. Alcorn is great and I am better for reading the book, so I definitely do not want to dissuade anyone from reading it because it is a subject that is very needed. If reading an extra hundred pages is the price of benefiting from his work, then it is totally worth it.

Randy Alcorn has given Christians a tremendous gift in Happiness. The sheer amount of research involved in compiling this tome is highly appreciated. Though the book might be criticized for being unnecessarily long and repetitive in spots, Alcorn makes up for this by providing relatively short, happiness-producing chapters (I found this to be literally true) that serve as top-notch daily devotional material. Plus, Happiness provides help for the Church and the world well through spotlighting an area of Christian doctrine that is dramatically lacking and terribly misunderstood, namely, that "God is happy, and he wants us to be happy too."

Wow. WOW! From the introduction, this is a paradigm-shifting book. The old preacher quote goes, "God wants you to he holy, not happy." Randy Alcorn spends nearly 500 pages discussing why we don't have to choose to be holy OR happy.It's long, yes. But I loved every page. I cried multiple times. Tears of joy. Thinking about my God's desire for me joy in Him.It's thorough. Biblical references everywhere. Amazing quotes from Christians (old and new) abound, all of which are very helpful. Honestly, this is a masterpiece of modern biblical literature.Highly recommended

A book that needed to be written by one of my favorite authors. It is for all who wonder if the "good news" is truly good news. As the author mentions in his book, the middle section is exceedingly thorough so many may want to scan that portion and come back to it as needed. I think this book will be a welcome paradigm shift for some who consider them Christians and a thought-provoking book for those wondering what the Bible has to say about happiness. My regret is that I didn't read this book 25 years ago.