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[When I Don't Desire God (Redesign): How to Fight for Joy] [By: Piper, John] [October, 2013]
- GenresChristian
Paperback
29 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
John Piper
609 books4,593 followersJohn 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 1, 2025
It took a while to get through this book, but that was due to much stopping and starting with extended periods in between.
Nevertheless, each time I opened the book to read another portion of it, the content and Scripture contained was seemingly exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment in time.
The last two chapters were especially meaningful to me in this season of life, and I am thankful to have read this book and would read it again in the future.
Nevertheless, each time I opened the book to read another portion of it, the content and Scripture contained was seemingly exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment in time.
The last two chapters were especially meaningful to me in this season of life, and I am thankful to have read this book and would read it again in the future.
January 7, 2025
Truthfully, it felt very wordy. Still great.
December 28, 2023
In Piper's words, this book is the answer to the question: How do you get a desire that you don’t have, and you can’t create? The Christian life is a fight for joy in God—a fight to see and savor the glory of God. Piper contends that the central weapons in the battle are the Word of God, prayer, and the world. He ends the book with a helpful chapter that addresses what to do when, regardless of our faithfulness in the fight for joy, the "darkness" does not lift.
Some of Piper's propositions:
Piper believes that deisres matter, that the need to fight to be happy in God himself is both ironic and true, and that the fight lasts until our final breath! He lays the foundation by showing:
1) God, in his word, commands us to delight in him.
2) God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
3) Peeps don't awaken to their desperate condition until they measure their hearts by Christian hedonism.
He then contends that:
- The joy in delighting in God himself is a gift from God, one that is enabled only by his Spirit.
- The fight for joy in God is a fight to see more of the glory and person of Christ, not to be comfortable and happy in this world.
- We fight for joy with both our head and our heart and as justified sinners.
- Practical fighting includes fighting with the Word of God, with Prayer, and with "wielding the world/creation."
- We must trust God in the fight, especially when the darkness does not lift. He is faithful!
What I liked about it:
I appreciated the follow-on to Desiring God. I needed the refresher - and then the expanded application of the concepts. I appreciated the sections on the word, prayer, and world, and felt they complemented Habits of Grace (Mathis).
Some points I want to remember:
“The aim [of the book] is not to salve the conscience of well-to-do Western acquisition. The aim is to sustain love’s ability to endure sacrificial losses of property and security and life, by the power of joy in the path of love. The aim is that Jesus Christ be made known in all the world as the all-powerful, all-wise, all-righteous, all-merciful, all-satisfying Treasure of the universe.” P 21
This book is about the fight for joy: “Christ is supremely glorious and supremely valuable. Therefore, he is worth the fight.”
Some of Piper's propositions:
Piper believes that deisres matter, that the need to fight to be happy in God himself is both ironic and true, and that the fight lasts until our final breath! He lays the foundation by showing:
1) God, in his word, commands us to delight in him.
2) God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
3) Peeps don't awaken to their desperate condition until they measure their hearts by Christian hedonism.
He then contends that:
- The joy in delighting in God himself is a gift from God, one that is enabled only by his Spirit.
- The fight for joy in God is a fight to see more of the glory and person of Christ, not to be comfortable and happy in this world.
- We fight for joy with both our head and our heart and as justified sinners.
- Practical fighting includes fighting with the Word of God, with Prayer, and with "wielding the world/creation."
- We must trust God in the fight, especially when the darkness does not lift. He is faithful!
What I liked about it:
I appreciated the follow-on to Desiring God. I needed the refresher - and then the expanded application of the concepts. I appreciated the sections on the word, prayer, and world, and felt they complemented Habits of Grace (Mathis).
Some points I want to remember:
“The aim [of the book] is not to salve the conscience of well-to-do Western acquisition. The aim is to sustain love’s ability to endure sacrificial losses of property and security and life, by the power of joy in the path of love. The aim is that Jesus Christ be made known in all the world as the all-powerful, all-wise, all-righteous, all-merciful, all-satisfying Treasure of the universe.” P 21
This book is about the fight for joy: “Christ is supremely glorious and supremely valuable. Therefore, he is worth the fight.”
August 15, 2025
This is an excellent summary of how to fight against the enticements of sin that kill joy in Christ. Some of my favorite quotes:
A person may want the gifts, fear the threats, and follow a lord whom they despise or pity or find boring or embarrassing, in order to have the gifts and avoid the threats. If Christ is to be glorified in his people, their following must be rooted not mainly in his promised gifts or threatened punishments but in his glorified person. - p. 36
The power of sin comes from its promise of pleasure and is meant to be defeated by the blood-bought promise of superior pleasure in God, not by raw human willpower… The way we destroy deceitful joy-killing desires that threaten to overwhelm us with destructive cravings is to hear and believe the Word of God when it says that he and his ways are more to be desired than all that sin can offer. - p. 103, 105
Prayer is the revealer of the heart. What a person prays for shows the spiritual condition of his heart. If we do not pray for spiritual things, then probably it is because we do not desire these things. Which is a devastating indictment of our hearts. - p. 139
A person may want the gifts, fear the threats, and follow a lord whom they despise or pity or find boring or embarrassing, in order to have the gifts and avoid the threats. If Christ is to be glorified in his people, their following must be rooted not mainly in his promised gifts or threatened punishments but in his glorified person. - p. 36
The power of sin comes from its promise of pleasure and is meant to be defeated by the blood-bought promise of superior pleasure in God, not by raw human willpower… The way we destroy deceitful joy-killing desires that threaten to overwhelm us with destructive cravings is to hear and believe the Word of God when it says that he and his ways are more to be desired than all that sin can offer. - p. 103, 105
Prayer is the revealer of the heart. What a person prays for shows the spiritual condition of his heart. If we do not pray for spiritual things, then probably it is because we do not desire these things. Which is a devastating indictment of our hearts. - p. 139
June 15, 2024
I’ve enjoyed reading this book and it refreshed my motivation for the spiritual disciplines. J. Piper presents the fight for joy in a comprehensive and simple way. I really appreciate the fact that he mentioned godly people who also wrote or preached on this subject. My list of TBR authors was updated with new names.
Gave 4* for the reason that for me the first part felt a bit dry, scattered and not clear what the red line was. However the 2nd part was really great. After reading this book I can say my time with the Father is much better and purposeful. Grateful for such readings.
“So let us fight for joy by asking for it earnestly from God, and let us fight for joy by asking for everything else with this one great goal: in and through all his gifts to see more and taste more of Christ. ”
Gave 4* for the reason that for me the first part felt a bit dry, scattered and not clear what the red line was. However the 2nd part was really great. After reading this book I can say my time with the Father is much better and purposeful. Grateful for such readings.
“So let us fight for joy by asking for it earnestly from God, and let us fight for joy by asking for everything else with this one great goal: in and through all his gifts to see more and taste more of Christ. ”
July 23, 2025
This book did a good job of explaining the difference in knowing the gift of God that is joy and receiving it. It also did a good job of showing how we can receive joy and that although someone may be in sorrow that does not mean joy cannot be found. Piper does a good job of showing us how to be joyous in the Lord and how to not be discouraged if we are not feel that currently.
October 27, 2025
3.75/5
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews