“When I address the question, “What should I do if I don’t desire God?” I am addressing the question: “How can I obtain or recover a joy in Christ that is so deep and so strong that it will free me from bondage to Western comforts and security, and will impel me into sacrifices of mercy and missions, and will sustain me in the face of martyrdom?” Persecution is normal for Christians. “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
…The fight for joy in Christ is not a fight to soften the cushion of Western comforts. It is a fight for strength to live a life of self-sacrificing love. It is a fight to join Jesus on the Calvary road and stay there with him, no matter what. How was he sustained on that road? Hebrew 12:2 answers, “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross.” The key to endurance in the cause of self-sacrificing love is not heroic willpower, but deep, unshakable confidence that the joy we have tasted in fellowship with Christ will not disappoint us in death.”
—Excerpt from When I Don’t Desire God, by John Piper, pp. 20-21.
