desiring God

a snippet from desiring God by john piper (FINALLY, reading it)

"Christian hedonism is a philosophy of life built on the following five convictions:

1. the longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful.

2. we should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. instead, we should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.

3. the deepest and most enduring happiness is found only in God. not from God, but in God.

4. the happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the manifold ways of love.

5. to the extent that we try to abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. or, to put it positively: the pursuit of pleasure is a necessary part of all worship and virtue. that is:

the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."

my struggle that im faced with in this new year is this very idea of enjoying Him forever. i can say it with my lips, but does my heart say that? no. honestly right now, it doesnt.

i long for other things. things that arent bad in and of itself, but my joy needs/MUST be found in Him first.

Oh Lord, that you would not just teach me, but show me - speak to me in ways intangible but true, - that you are indeed the source of all joy and happiness. may i desire you first beyond anything else. God, this is my confession, but im so weak, prone to wander, lusting after the things of this world and the things i want - guide me back into seeing that you are THAT much more sweeter and worth it. Amen.