This man not only desires God Himself, he desires nothing but God. When I Don’t Desire God. I think life is not over after our worldly existence. Subscribe to the Fighter Verses™ Blog: Email Address . I’m not going to give you a list of ways to fight for your joy. What I am doing in this letter is simply reminding you (1) that God is present in the darkness, (2) that he is holding on to his people when they feel barely able to hold on to him, and (3) that though you may feel unsure of your salvation in this struggle, you may be totally sure you will not have salvation if you give up the struggle and walk away. They hope they are. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. God wants me to belong to him as fully as I can in the life I am now living.      making my steps secure. If you were to ask me, “Now, okay, in view of that, what does it mean for God to love me? Is that love? So, while this book is a mere ten years old, the They seem contradictory. In this 10th anniversary edition, Piper offers us practical encouragement for holding onto the only source of true and lasting joy: God himself. We can never get too much wisdom. In fact, I just have the suspicion there won’t be any mirrors in heaven, because anything good and beautiful about you will be radiated back to you from the other people that you’re loving so much it just bounces back to you. He may feel like only his fingernails grip the cliff. For God to be love is to call attention to him and, therefore, in God’s case, he’s the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is identical to love. So if you want to imitate God in God’s self-exaltation then you become God-exalting, not self-exalting, because what will satisfy people’s souls forever and ever and ever is seeing, knowing, loving, fellowshipping with God. This Psalmist is able to say that he now desires God for His own sake, and not merely for what God gives and does. It means that when I desire God fully, I am perfectly happy. You are forgiven for God’s glory. God works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who first hoped in Christ might be for the praise of his glory. First Peter 4:11: “He supplies strength to us for his glory. Walk by the light of your fire, It doesn’t speak in terms of simple certainties — namely, that you will definitely prove not to be an Esau. But if I’m not satisfied in God, it’s not because He isn’t enough. Does it mean magnify God like a microscope magnifies or like a telescope magnifies? Unimaginable torment, forever. Christian preaching is a God-appointed means of transforming its hearers in both head and heart — not only in intellect, but also in affections. For my name’s sake I defer my anger. Third, many simply do not want to seek God they enjoy carnal living and satisfying the flesh. John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. You wouldn’t be healed. Only God can make the depraved heart desire God. It is hard to admit this, because it is so scary. Let’s sum it up with Ephesians 1:11: “God works all things according to the counsel of his will.” All things. We are saved by the sovereign work of God by his Spirit causing us to be born again, which brings into being a new creature who has new affections for God and less affection for the world. I think it is a mistake to give unqualified assurance to a struggler when you do not know if they are born again. The conference I’m thinking about is “The Blazing Center.” It’s in a DVD. So I thought it might be helpful to share with you how I responded to my friend’s email. What does it mean for God to love me?” Here would be my answer. This might … He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” God leads you for his name’s sake. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! THEN, stay there. We want to work on this together. Although we may still go through religious motions, our heart can be far from God. “When I Don’t Desire God: How To Fight For Joy”. Other desires will come in and choke out God’s Word (Mk. Second Corinthians 1:24 and Philippians 1:25, two apostolic mandates to me to get down there to Greenville and work for your joy, so that’s what I said, in a shorter form, to Jon in the airport this morning. We got to ask some huge questions. You wouldn’t. I don’t think my friend is unusual. Parts of the following letter are exact quotes. I have a kind of person in my mind, and I do so because of a recent conversation at my church. We’re supposed to be like God, so I’m going to exalt myself, and that will loving.” It won’t be loving. And all of you who’ve heard any of my talks ever would know the answer, because I say it over and over again, and I’ll say it now. He is author of. But our actions prove if our words are true or not. From my own experience, what I would say is this: If you have the grace to hold on to God’s mercy and not throw it away in apostasy, there is hope. He is exclusive in his desire. By your behavior, your parenting, the way you do your job, the way you worship, and the way you handle your things in life, everyone should read off of your life: “God is great.” That’s why you exist. When this happens we our deceiving ourselves with head knowledge, instead of a heart felt desire for God. I am on a mission to put your happiness in God’s glory. Isn’t that amazing that I can stand in front of these people and say, “I know totally with confidence why every one of you in this room was created. Let me give you four things I’m not coming to do. 
For my love is often cold,
 That’s why you exist. Protip: if you want people to worship your God, try not to make him sound like a sadistic narcissist asshole. As for your question, why does not God take it away? Convinced of this, I know I will remain, and continue with you all, for your progress and joy of faith.” Yes, the Lord is going to leave me a little longer on planet Earth so that I might advance your joy of faith.      and has no light But that’s not what God has promised. One reason I have come to love the Psalms is that they are woven with desire for God. Happiness. Do you desire more of God’s presence? God does everything for the glory of God. It’s called “When I Don’t Desire God: How To Fight For Joy” because there are a lot of people like that, there are a lot of people who think that doesn’t matter, and there are some people that state the way it does matter in totally misleading ways. However, we have seen God do so much that we no longer question why God led us here. If God has something and he doesn’t show it to us, even though it would bring us full and everlasting pleasure, God’s not loving toward us. My salvation is a miracle wrought by the Holy Spirit upon me doing what I cannot do for myself, bringing into being a new John Piper who has affections for God and is falling out of love with the world. Matthew 6:9–10: “Pray then like this, disciples, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13. So I’m not here to help you feel good about yourself. When I Don't Desire God takes all of the concepts of Desiring God and puts those in real-world scenarios.It believe it's certainly his most practical and helpful. Paul is ashamed of his inconsistency in these times of defeat. What do you say when you feel you have said all you know to say — in the book and in conversation? (The only thing that I’m saying to do that is not a suggestion is to surrender!) We desire God because we yearn for His comfort and everlasting life. Why we should want to serve God is a more difficult question. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Just ask Jesus. Format: PDF | Get this resource. Other parts are altered enough so as not to betray any confidences. Therefore, God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation and self-presentation is synonymous with love. 3. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it … Remember—God has an unlimited, omnipotent perspective that is not bound by time or space. And so he had to put forth his Son as a propitiation by his blood, so that he could be seen to be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus. Through life’s fearful path. There’s nothing extraordinary about it. You have a job. You’d have low-level, low-grade, non-satisfying measures of contentment. Christian Hedonism says that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Know this: his hands are on his children’s fingernails — day and night. I prayed, hoped, and believed that God would give me the desires of my heart. The Word of God: Left to ourselves, our desire for God will wane and drift. When you do not understand situations you are in, you need to surrender to God everything you have even if it’s not a lot. We don’t believe he can. “Oh, poor God, he is so teeny, and so small, I must now make him look bigger than he is.” That’s blasphemy. We must first obey before receiving the blessing. So if the pain full thing in your life (gay sexual desire) do not learn you to be drawn closer to Gods heart and love, then the pain is certainly not from the Fathers discipline. This is where Psalm 63 starts, and I want to look at it under three headings: God my Desire; God my Delight; and God my Defender. Editor’s Note: This message, which appears below as a lightly edited transcript, is the first part of a series of six messages based on the book When I Don’t Desire God. Feelings come and go, and you may not always “feel” love for God. There is nothing more satisfying than more of God’s presence in your life. For there is a “wisdom that comes down from above” (James 3:17). And so will diligence without God. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it. That’s not my message. The biggest question I’ve ever asked, I think, is this: Why does God do everything that he does? “Hell. You were created for the glory of God.” Now, that is an ambiguous statement, and I have thrown it around for years and realize how ambiguous for the glory of God is in people’s ears. I’m suggesting that it would mean this: When the darkness of uncertainty and fear hangs over you, inasmuch as by grace it remains in you, don’t let go of the One you knew in the light. Do not stop at experiences. I am on what I consider an apostolic mission. In the last several years, the song “He Will Hold Me Fast” has gone deep with me and become very sweet. Forever. He’s the only being in the universe for whom such behavior is love. There is no comfortable answer to how one conquers such fears and escapes such a condition. But he does not despair. But he believes that Christ grips his fingernails: Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Philippians 3:12). Question: "Why should I want to serve God?" With just a little twinkle that you might say exists, but significance, zero. Having a baby was the desire of my heart; I was 42 when God said no. 4. Heaven will not be a hall of mirrors in which you like what you see. I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Pray for dawn and deliverance. Salvation is not my brain doing what it can do by itself. Worker with you for your joy. Any pastor in the room has had it. 4:19). Why does God do everything he does? I’m a flawed human and I have days where I do not feel God’s joy. What happens is wonder, awe, which is what you were made for. You were made to see God, love God, delight in God, and be stunned by God. You also can give the sober counsel that struggling has hope of success, but forsaking the struggle does not. Just go ahead and overflow from your morning devotions. Something holds them. You want to be one who hungers and thirsts after Christ, so what practically do you do when you don't? Perhaps you have considered this word from Isaiah: Who among you fears the Lord The Bible tells us clearly that God has a desire and a plan to fulfill that desire. Right at the center of the gospel, God is exalting God. “I’m an apostolic workman,” Paul says, for what? The number one prayer on your lips and springing from your heart, is “Hallowed be your name in my life, my family, my church, this city, this world. But this must be of a pure heart. Isaiah 43:6–7: “Bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the ends of the Earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.” I know beyond the shadow of a doubt why you were made. Let’s ask Him to work, do our part, and trust Him for the results! Paul’s eagerness in all this is a reflection of God’s desire. by John Piper. I can’t promise that you are a child of God, but I can promise that if you throw away hope, you will prove not to be a child of God. I am not on a mission to put your happiness above God’s glory. Trusting God is the cure for excessive worry. How long was David in the miry bog? This is a very dangerous conference. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, You hope they are. I have a theory that for some people silence comes … And this is such a typical conversation. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. One answer is this: Don’t think that you need the tailor-made answer to the presenting problem. It will be distracting. Here’s the way I would define love to you. Want to desire God? Who will deliver me from this body of death? This you have from my hand: But he also tells us that the way he fights as an imperfect saint is by the hope that Christ has a firmer grip on him than he does on Christ. Paul speaks in a way that captures some of the mystery of the ongoing battle with sin: Wretched man that I am! He does exist, and just because we are asked to believe things on faith, not human understanding, many people have a problem with that. I’m not on a mission to help you feel good about yourselves. Why do you do all things? And they are in a season of darkness. No. It happens when our desire is no longer directed toward God. These failures leave him feeling distant from God and, at times, wondering if he is a Christian, or perhaps whether he may even be an Esau who has spurned grace so often that true repentance is no longer possible (Hebrews 12:16–17). We do not think the same or act the same because we serve a different Master. It will be distracting from what will satisfy their souls, because what will satisfy their souls is God. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Desire for Perfect Beauty. p.s. Therefore, for God to be, loving must give himself. How should my name be profaned? Now, which way are you called upon to magnify God?      and rely on his God. Whether we can help someone struggling with joylessness in the Christian life depends not primarily on the quantity of wisdom we have accumulated over the years, but on how we apply the truth we have, and whether the Spirit of God turns that truth into life and freedom and joy. God does everything that he does — everything that he does — in order to display his glory for the enjoyment of all those who find in Christ their highest treasure. They will know the truth (which may seem random to us), and the truth may set them free. It is God’s plan for preserving us and bringing us safely to glory. Some of you have heard me say, I like to say it, “Nobody goes to the Grand Canyon to increase his self esteem,” because on the edge of the Grand Canyon, as you feel your soul being drawn out into this vast opening, that’s not what happens. I am not on a mission to add happy icing to the cake of your decision for Christ. — If you’re not sure you even want to desire the Word… {And if you’re not sure why you should even want to desire the Word, just look at some of the benefits of reading the Bible and of immersing ourselves in the Word of God!! That’s my question. The problem is that many people, after being persuaded, find that this truth is both liberating and devastating. I have a kind of person in my mind, and I do so because of a recent conversation at my church. I have been asked, What would I say now, with the accumulated wisdom of 72 years, to those still struggling to “delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4)? It’s been fifteen years since I wrote When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy.I wrote it because hundreds of people who hear the message of Christian Hedonism with hope drift into discouragement because they don’t have the joy in God that they know they should. 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