When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy: Study Guide

by John Piper

For over twenty-five years John Piper has trumpeted the truth that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." He calls it Christian Hedonism. The problem is that many people, after being persuaded, find that this truth is both liberating and devastating. It's liberating because it endorses our inborn desire for joy. And it's devastating because it reveals that we don't desire God the way we should. What do you do when you discover the good news that God wants you to be content in him, but then find that you aren't? If joy in God were merely the icing on the cake of Christian commitment, this book would be insignificant. But Piper argues that joy is so much more. Our being satisfied in God is necessary to show God's worthiness and to sustain sacrifices of love. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. He tasted it. It sustained him through the deepest suffering. His Father was glorified. His people were saved. That is what joy in God does. The absolutely urgent question What can I do if I don't have it? With a pastor's heart and with radical passion for the glory of Christ, John Piper helps you answer that question.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living

328 pages, Kindle Edition

About the author

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.

John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Pavel · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is hope

As a Christian you already know that there's nothing on earth that can really satisfy your soul so you stop seeking delight in the world. The problem comes when you fail to seek delight in the Lord (or don't know how to fight for it) because then you see yourself in a spiritual numbness where you are not getting joy at all. Life becomes gray. Everything losses its attractive.

This book helps you fight for joy by delighting in Jesus's glory, by striving for getting your soul satisfied in Him, in his beauty.

I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with sadness, depression or lack of joy and purpose in life.

[Pat]

If you ever feel you’re not smart enough to read John Piper you are not alone.

I did like a lot of what was written specifically - God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied him John Piper

[Ferry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorrowful yet Rejoicing

Hard to read as confronting truth always hard at first glance but will surely yield its sweet comfort along the way.

[Aubrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and encouraging.