How Do I Stop Rooting My Joy in My Circumstances?

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

John Piper, Unknown, 163859, Pastor, Ask, Theology, Desiring God, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.8 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 20 September 2021

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We seem hardwired to be happiest when life goes well, and saddest when life goes poorly. How can we root our joy in Jesus instead of circumstances?

Transcript

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0:00.0	What we seem to be hardwired to root our happiness in our circumstances, it just comes naturally
0:10.7	to us.
0:11.7	We are the happiest when things are going well.
0:13.9	We are the saddest when things are going badly.
0:16.9	Our mood is determined by the up and down rollercoaster of life's ever-changing circumstances.
0:22.4	We do it at age 4, we do it at age 24, we do it at age 44, and we do it at age 14.
0:30.4	Today I want you to meet Tessa, she's a 14-year-old listener of the podcast who writes into
0:34.7	us.
0:35.7	Tessa writes this, Dear Pastor John, hello, thank you so much for this podcast and for
0:39.7	the ministry of Desiring God.
0:41.1	All of it has been a huge blessing in my life.
0:43.7	Recently I have been feeling more and more that my happiness depends on the circumstances
0:48.5	around me.
0:49.7	Will you please offer me biblical guidance on how I can root my joy in Jesus instead?
0:55.5	Will I feel so thankful for this from a 14-year-old, when I think back on the things that
1:03.7	I struggled with, when I was 14, I don't think I posed the question the way I should have.
1:12.5	So let me just encourage you that your very way of asking this question is a sign of
1:19.3	significant growing spiritual life and maturity for your age especially.
1:27.8	So take heart from where I sit, it looks to me like God is at work in your life and that
1:35.9	is always a wonderful miracle.
1:40.3	Before I give you some suggestions from the Bible for how you can shift your circumstance
1:46.9	dependent happiness onto Jesus-dependent happiness, let me also say that this battle that
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