Is God happy? What do you think? Bible teacher John Piper refers to himself as a Christian hedonist. In his book, Desiring God, Piper writes: “Can you imagine what it would be like if the God who ruled the world were not happy? What if God were given to grumbling and pouting and depression, like some Jack-and-the-beanstalk giant in the sky? What if God were frustrated and despondent and gloomy and dismal and discontented and dejected? Could we join with David [in Psalm 63v1] and say, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water”? I don’t think so. We would all relate to God like little children who have a frustrated, gloomy, dismal, discontented father. They can’t enjoy him. They can only try not to bother him, or maybe try to work for him to earn some little favour. Therefore if God is not a happy God, Christian hedonism [our seeking to enjoy God] has no foundation. For the aim of the Christian hedonist is to be happy in God, to delight in God, to cherish and enjoy His fellowship and favour. But children cannot enjoy the fellowship of their father if He is unhappy.”

Source: John Piper, Desiring God, 2006 edition, Leicester: IVP, p.32-33