Piper begins by giving us the best introduction in all of his writings to our obligation to delight in God. This book is extraordinarily helpful in this regard. When we find ourselves not rejoicing in Him, how should we respond? Should we question our faith? This is where most Christians live most of the time.
as though I had sensed the fragrance of the fare but was not yet able to eat it.
Your beauty drew me to you, but soon I was dragged away from you by my own weight and in dismay I plunged again into the things of this world. I did not persist in enjoyment of my God. I was astonished that although I now loved you. As explanation for the purpose of the book, Piper quotes Augustine: That is the theme of John Piper’s 2004 book, When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. We must fight to fulfill the command to rejoice in the Lord. We are dependent upon God for any spiritual good (John 15:5) yet our dependence is not passive. Instead, believers are commanded to “Rejoice in the Lord always!” (Philippians 4:4) believers are commanded to “Be transformed through the renewing of your minds” (Romans 12:2) believers are commanded to “Know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). The Bible does not teach that we are born again and then live happily ever after with continual joy in God. This is the gift of faith, of new birth.īut genuine believers in Christ Jesus still generally wake up groggy, cranky, self-centered, and self-absorbed. First, by a miracle of the Holy Spirit, changing our hearts from within, so that we confess our sinfulness, our lack of delight in God, and trust that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty we deserve for that sin. So how do naturally self-centered persons live a life of joy in God? If we depend on our spontaneous feelings, most of us will spontaneously act like this world is all that is important, that our time and our comfort and our success are the overarching values in life. Most mornings we wake up feeling groggy and cranky, acting self-centered and self-absorbed. Yet we don’t wake up spontaneously each day feeling that God is great and marvelous. We show that God is great and precious and trustworthy and beautiful when we live and act and feel in ways that magnify His value compared to the value of the world around us. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). How do we glorify Him? For over twenty years, John Piper has argued that the Bible teaches that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” That is, we glorify God when we can say with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. God created mankind for a purpose: To bring glory to His Name (Isaiah 43:7).
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