When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God--And Joy

John Piper is an excellent Author, He hits the nail on the head everytime, Must be a God thing!

~When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God--and Joy~ is insightful work by Baptist pastor John Piper. Piper examines the phenomenon of depression or melancholy from a Biblical perspective. This succinct book began as an epilogue to an earlier book When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy. Herein, Piper seeks to offer guidance and encouragement for those for whom joy seems to stay out of reach. As the book capsule summary notes, "Even the most faithful, focused Christian can encounter periods of depression and spiritual darkness when joy seems to stay just out of reach. It can happen because of sin, satanic assault, distressing circumstances, or hereditary and other physical causes." And despite its brevity, this potent little book brings consolation for the downhearted believers in Christ. One of the best known hymns is William Cowper's "God Moves In A Mysterious Way, His Wonders to Perform." Cowper was subject to melancholy and knew more about the dark side of Christian walk than its joy. It was out of experience that Cowper conjured these words: "Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face." Packed with practical advice for overcoming melancholy, Piper rises up to the challenge of helping readers face depression. He does so, by perceptively affirming the truth of Scripture. Piper offers a broadside against the bad theology of prosperity theologians that misrepresents the Christian walk as one of happiness or an experience of ecstatic joy. Genuine believers in Christ gripped by despair find little consolation in shallow pseudo-Christian well-wishing clothed in spiritual garb that is aloof from their bleak reality. In truth, the Scriptures make it resoundingly clear that life in this fallen world is very much subject to pitfalls--including a life of adversity, hardship and toil. It's not surprising that the Apostle Paul admonished young Timothy, "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). The challenge for the Christian--whether in the grip of a dark depression or simply faced with adverse challenges--is to fight for joy and savor the consolation of the Gospel promises. John Piper notes in his introduction: "Richard Baxter... wrote with astonishing relevance about the complexities of dealing with Christians who seem unable to enjoy God. "Delighting in God, and in his word and ways," he said, "is the flower and life of true religion. But these that I speak of can delight in nothing--neither God, nor in his word, nor any duty." (pp. 12-13) As Puritan Richard Baxter would write in The Cure of Melancholy, "I have known grievous, despairing melancholy cured and turned into a life of godly cheerfulness, principally by setting upon constancy and diligence in the business of families and callings." Rising up to the challenges of adversity in the face of melancholy is the task of every Christian in their fight for joy. George McDonald, whom C.S. Lewis called "h

When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God--and Joy John Piper does not waste words nor space in filling this book with things other than scripture explaining the root of depression and Christian ways in assisting those afflicted with hopelessness, bitterness, and sadness. Darkness is the main impetus that keeps a depressed soul down, riddled with the falsehoods, accusations, unconfessed sin, tormenting harassment, and undeserving condemnation from the evil one himself. Secular "pep talks" with your counselor or therapist and antidepressent medications will only put bandaids on wounds that are really spiritual, not physiological, in nature. Hence, the prescription lies in the pages of the Holy Bible, where the true spiritual weapons are provided by God to combat the enemy's tactics to keep bound a wounded soul. And Piper just says which scripture can best be read to an afflicted individual, releasing him from the bondage of the enemy's lies (ie. Confessing Sin to One Another - 2 Corinthians 5:21, Jesus Does Not Condemn, Satan Does - Romans 8:33-34). Once those chains are broken, one can experience true joy, a fruit of the spirit that springs forth "like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." (Isaiah 58:11 KJV). In fact, this is what God created us for, to overflow with joy so that we may spread His word! Hallelujah! "Joy in Christ thrives on being shared. That is the essence of Christian joy; It overflows or dies." (Piper, page 65). We, as apostles to Christ, must "fight for joy in this fallen world of pain and suffering", while ministering to those who have no hope (Piper, page 79, in quoting 2 Corinthians 6:10). To read this book, draws me nearer to Piper's other writings, realizing that this book was originally a chapter in a much more expansive work. However, this book alone will be the better investment, over even one session with a secular counselor. Five Stars!

John Piper has once again blessed the Body of Christ with his latest book, When the Darkness Will Not Lift. A small volume, portions of which are drawn from other of his larger works, it is its succinctness, I think, which enhances its impact. The Introduction lays the foundation for what follows by discussing the nature and essence of spiritual darkness. Piper then moves into an eminently helpful treatment of justification, how it "severs [the] root of misery;" sanctification, and how confusing the two will kill joy in the believer. The rest of the book is a tightly-packed, compassionate, insightful, practical, biblical tool for helping those who "wait for joy." Piper touches on the physical/medical aspect of spiritual darkness, "the ground of assurance when we cannot see our faith," "when a child of God is persuaded that he is not," doing our duty in the midst of darkness, the place of thanksgiving, unconfessed sin, the role of Satan, and the danger of self-absorption. Don't be fooled; at a mere 79 pages, this is not a fast read. You will want to go slowly and drink deeply, and also to benefit from the other sources noted. - Pamela Glass, Christian Book [...]

Piper's book, which is an expansion of a chapter in When I Don't Desire God, offers comfort and guidance to those experiencing spiritual darkness. The six chapters explore topics such as the physical causes for melancholy, waiting in darkness, fighting for joy, how confession of sin leads to freedom, and how to break loose from the bonds of self-absorption. This book is helpful for anyone who has suffered from depression - and it's a good resource to have on hand to offer those needing encouragement. You can read this entire book in a pdf format from Piper's ministry website, Desiring God. --Christian Women Online Book Buzz