Hoping for Happiness by Barnabas Piper

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think Barnabas Piper intended for his new book, Hoping for Happiness, to be as timely as it is. However, in God’s sovereignty, this is a book that 2020 really needed. In fact, I hope you’ll pick up a copy because you don’t just need this book for 2020—this is a constant reminder you need in your life.

In Hoping for Happiness, Barnabas Piper helps us know ourselves better. He exposes the weakness of the things we try and derive lasting happiness from, helps us put them in their rightful place, and shows us where we can find true happiness and joy. Piper continually points us back to the book of Ecclesiastes. He helps us to to understand it better and shows us how it applies to our lives today. Piper says, "My aim in this book is to help you discover a happiness that is better than that which your dreams have promised you. It is to reframe your expectations in a way that reflects reality as God defines it in the Bible, so that they are true. It is to set you free from the manic pursuit, so that you can live a life that's grounded, hopeful, and, yes, genuinely happy."

You are temporary and so am I. You are also eternal and so am I. Piper continually takes us back to these thoughts and I love books that remind me of this. I need this reminder almost daily. I love the way PIper takes the temporary and eternal and shows how we often we get these two categories mixed up. He shows how we often put eternal expectations on temporary things instead of enjoying them as good gifts. He says, "God gave us these and so many other wonderful gifts to make us happy—profoundly happy—but when we demand of them things God did not intend, we are left empty." He goes on to say, "The real crux of our problem is that we expect temporal things to deliver lasting happiness. So often I do this. Even more, I need reminded that this is not the way.

A final thing I really appreciate about this book is how raw and vulnerable Piper is. He's not trying to make himself look good. He gives you example after example where he's failed in his own life. He also explains how he's grown and how the Lord has helped him along the way. One thing I've come to love about Barnabas Piper—both in his writing and on his podcast—is that he is honest and real. He's not trying to make himself look better than he is and this genuineness gives a lot of weight to his message.

Grab a copy of Hoping for Happiness. In a year where there's been a lot of depression and despair, you and I need this word. We need to look in the right place to find real happiness.

You can pick up your copy of Hoping for Happiness on Amazon. (affiliate)

Disclaimer: I receieved a complimentary copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for a fair and honest review.