Okay, I will be the first to admit it: It is much easier to desire God than desire to read “Desiring God.” I spent 40 minutes reading the introduction and another hour reading about the happiness of God. But at the end I felt that I needed to read that chapter again. I wasn’t happy, albeit I was reading about God’s happiness. Did you have a similar reaction? I would love to know.
Perhaps this will help you. John Piper is trying to anticipate his critics in these first couple of chapters. After all, he chose a sub-title for his book which he knew was going to be controversial. If it is today, imagine 25 years ago when the book was first published. “Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.” If he had said “Meditations of a Christian Joy-seeker,” no one would care (and consequently the book might not have become the bestseller that it is!). If he chose “Meditations of a Happy Christian,” even Joel Osteen would have recommended the book. Instead, he stuck with a difficult title, which required him to write an introduction, two chapters, then later a couple of post-script long notes just to explain what he means.
I would like to ask you to go pass the hurdle of the title, not get too discouraged because of the opening chapters, and zero in on the main premise of the book. God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify Himself. Toward that end, He created the universe, sent His Son to the world, and decided to enter into a redemptive relationship with us, His servants. It is because of God’s chief end in seeking joy that we can experience true joy in Him. That is what you need to keep in mind as you continue to plow through this book.
I don’t often mark books that I read, but I write notes. I encourage you to write notes. Whether you use the margins of the book, a notebook or a smart phone note device, write down the things that jump at you. For example, I wrote down his daughter’s Talitha Ruth’s motto at 15: “a girl should get so lost in God, that a guy has to seek Him to find her.” Now that stuff preaches, especially coming from a teenager. When I read it, it made me ask the question: “What sort of teaching and example was that girl exposed to in order to arrive at a profound motto like that?” And, more importantly, would my life cause anyone to come up with these sort of statements about God, because they have seen the way I live?
From the first chapter my take home lesson was the statement that there are no mere coincidences, not even in the small affairs of life (page 37). That is one small practical implication of this theological concept we call the “sovereignty” of God. Speaking of place and time in the universe, Paul summarized the same concept this way, “From one man he made all the nations of men, that they should inhabit the earth. And He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” (Acts 17:26). I love the NASB expression here: “the boundaries of their habitation.” Paul is talking about the nations (“ethne,” from where we get the word “ethnic”) of the world, but we can also apply the concept to individuals.
I don’t know how many times I have met Christians who are so unhappy with their station or stage in life. “I hate my job,” “I hate this neighborhood,” “I wished we had never moved from…” I have made the statement that at times it appears that as often as I have met happy pagans I have also met unhappy Christians. John Piper would probably say that the last phrase – “unhappy Christian” – is an oxymoron. What do you think?
But if we, followers of Christ, understand this concept of the sovereignty of God and the fact that there are no mere coincidences, we will pause before we go running our mouths about hating this and hating that. God has picked the exact time in history and the exact place where you should live – down to the Zip Code, I believe. And why has He done that, you may ask. Paul says that God went to this “trouble” so that “they should seek Him (as if groping for Him) and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” Think about this: God put you where you are when you are, to give you a chance to get to know Him. So buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Happy reading!
pastor ivanildo 
Thanks Pastor! You have inspired me to trek on. I have to admit, after trying to get through the intro and first chapter–I was discouraged. I LOVE reading nonfiction (it’s the only thing I read), but with small children, I just don’t have hours to sit down and read. I wish I did. However, your words have given me encouragement, and I will try to take one thing away from each chapter. Thanks!
thank you for commenting, alli. glad u r taking my humble advice. please persist. it will be worth the effort. and keep the comments coming. would love to hear about the “nuggets” u r finding.
Wow, I have to admit, I NEVER expected you to write what’s in the first paragraph here. I felt the same, but assumed everyone else is an awesome theologian and thinker and I’m just too overwhelmed with the little kiddos right now to “get it”. Ha! I didn’t even get the courage to visit your blog til now but I’m glad I did.
The reason I decided to continue reading (even before I came to your blog), and the reason I made it through the intro, and first chapter—is because I really felt like there is something in the book God wants me to grasp, and I felt like it will come in the book eventually, even if I’m not getting much out of it now. I did find some of the thoughts about happiness very intriguing and a different way for me to think about God. It reminded me of what Jeff Troyer said in his testimony on stage about the book he read, and how we perceive God has a lot to do with how we view ourselves.
I’m also noticing that he puts some of what I’ve already concluded in life in very fancy words. I have to stop, re-read it, think, and then I’m like, “ok, yeah, I see where he’s going with this”.
As a parent, the part where he talked about what it would be like to worship a God who is gloomy, discontented, and dismal, totally stood out to me. Children cannot enjoy the fellowship of their father if he is unhappy. Furthermore, if the world were completely frustrating to Him, He would not be happy. How could He be? I can totally relate to that because of my 3 year olds anger, attitude, and painful treatment of me this week. It’s so hard to keep on going. It’s exhausting to continually be forgiving, graceful, patient, and kindly instructing and teaching him what is right. God put us here to work for his glory and to “help Him through” the rough days. Dare I say it like that? Like when I’m at my limit, and I need to reflect on all those moments where my son has told me he loved me, has done right, been obedient and how much fun and happiness I’ve had with him—even though right now he’s frustrating me to an unbelievable extent! I can’t put what John Piper is saying in words like he does, but I feel like I grasp it.
So basically, I’m not really enjoying reading it much right now, it feels like a lot of work but I’m looking forward to reading through the book despite the fact. I’ve committed myself so I’m sticking with it. And just sharing thoughts here has been a huge help! 🙂
thank you for posting your comment, kathy. this is very helpful and i wish others will read it. this book will help you with your 3 year old — guaranteed! God has a purpose for everything and nothing will frustrate His will, which is good and profitable. please share some of the things you’ve already concluded before you read the book. we all would love to hear! happy reading!
Ok. I’m glad I’m not the only one who was struggling while reading this book. I mean I have BA in theology and I was struggling. However, I am starting to get the hang of this book. I LOVE what he has to say about God looking through wide and narrow lenses. I’ll be honest, I started arguing with him about the problem of pain. Surely pain and sin doesn’t make God happy. After all, God abhors sin and you can’t be happy about something you abhor. But the way he describes God as having 2 lenses makes perfect sense. God can be happy in spite of the things he abhors because he uses them to achieve his purpose. I haven’t read that far so maybe he makes this jump but it follows that if God can be happy in spite in the bad stuff because he knows the outcome, shouldn’t we who trust him be able to find happiness if we truly believe he is in control? The answer is a resounding yes. Which begs the question, if we are not happy, are we not trusting in God? I think Piper might say we are not.
this is very good, geanna. u nailed it. if we truly are in love with God, should we be in love with the same things He is in love with? i am glad u r not giving up. your comments are always welcome!