Book Review: When I Don't Desire God

John Piper founded Desiring God and served for 33 years as the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. He is the author or contributor to more than 50 books (woah!) and has preached thousands of sermons. There are few men who have been more influential in this generation, bringing a BIG vision of the glory of God and stirring hearts to love Christ.

Piper is probably best known for his book Desiring God, the same title as the organization that he founded. Arguing from Scripture and theologians through the ages, the thesis of the book is summarized in, "God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him." This simple yet powerful mind-set has changed the lives of so many, igniting a passion in them to find their supreme joy in God and devote themselves to "Christian Hedonism". As folks applied this new perspective, many started approaching John Piper with this type of problem, "I totally agree with everything you said in Desiring God, but here's my problem: I don't. I WANT to love God like you say, like the Bible commands, but I don't. And I'm scared. What do I do?"

That's what prompted Piper to write When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. This book is being featured here on The Relentless Fight because of how it encourages and equips Christians to make God their treasure, inspiring them to FIGHT the great fight of faith: the fight for JOY in God!

Here's just a few highlights from the book to get you excited. It's worth the read!

• Why does joy in God matter?: First because God commands it (Psalm 100:2, and hundreds of other verses). Second, because nothing proves quicker where someone is at spiritually than focusing on desires. It brings conviction against our preference for God-substitutes. Do you LOVE and treasure Jesus? "Esteeming God less than anything is the essence of evil." (page 34) and Piper draws this from Jeremiah 2:12f.
• Only God can create joy in God: Joy in God is a gift from God. As fallen sinful people, even when we're saved, we cannot MAKE ourselves feel joy in God. It is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. But that doesn't leave us off the hook. God has appointed MEANS to cultivate joy. He has given us tools and methods and strategies. 
• The Christian life is WAR: Piper seeks to rouse us from our passive slumber and to take up arms against Satan and our sin, to FIGHT hard against our smaller pleasures so that our highest affections are for Christ alone. "Far too many Christians are passive in their fight for joy.... the central strategy is to preach the gospel to yourself. This is war. Satan is preaching for sure. If we remain passive, we surrender the field to him." (page 81) "Christianity is war. It is a declaration of all-out combat against our own sinful impulses." (page 103) and "The Word of God is the instrument for killing sin." (page 106)
• It's a fight to SEE: We primarily fight to SEE the glory of Jesus in the gospel. That is what awakens joy. Example: You may fight to get up to SEE the sunrise, but you can't fight to MAKE the sunrise make you happy. Joy is a spontaneous gift. But you can fight to put yourself in the God-ordained path of blessing. And then wait for God to give the gift. 
• PRAY for God to give joy: PRAY for God to give you the joy. Many of the prayers in the Psalms assume we are unable to make ourselves satisfied in God. Piper gives four prayers he asks of God when he opens up the Bible, through the acronym IOUS on page 151f. You can listen to a 5-minute explanation of IOUS on an #AskPastorJohn episode titled I'm Bored With The Bible.
• Tons of practical tips: Piper gives a boatload of practical tips for engaging our heart and fueling our passion for God. His highest recommendation is simply prayer and Scripture. He highlights making a PLAN to read the Bible (page 116), and taking it to the next level through memorizing it, journaling your thoughts on it, and meditating (chapter 8). He recommends solid books on doctrine. He stresses the importance of being committed to a local church (page 130ff) and the encouragement found in reading Christian biography. You can fight for joy through music, art, the commonplace, bodily health, suffering, exercise, and rest (chapter 11). Food & sex are occasions for gratitude to the Giver through the Word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4f). Choosing to thank God may even cause our hearts to be moved to gratitude (for more on this, see the TRF post Fighting for Gratitude).
• Fight in community: "The fight for joy is a battle to be fought alongside comrades. We do not fight alone. To be a Christian is to be a part of the Body of Christ. We are meant to help each other fight for joy." (page 173). For more, see the TRF post Brothers in Arms. 

In summary, every one of us should be loving and treasuring God more than we already are. He is worthy of our highest affection! Piper's book will spur you on to pursue God and will give you practical strategies to fight for joy in Him. You can get the FREE pdf of When I Don't Desire God here, or purchase a hard copy from Amazon. But if you prefer watching instead of reading, you can watch online (for free!) Piper himself teaching a conference on When I Don't Desire God. Or you can buy the DVD.

Fighting for joy,
The Relentless Fight

Brothers in Arms

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." - James 5:16

This life is hard. Even though we're saved from the penalty of sin, we still await Jesus' return when we will be finally free from the presence of sin in our heart and lives. Until then we fight and make war against our sin. But you don't have to fight alone. 

One of the greatest weapons God has given us in the fight against sin is each other. We were never meant to be on our own in the fight! Someone once said "There's a reason why God saved a bunch of us" - we were meant to have brothers and sisters to walk alongside us, to help us in the fight against sin, to encourage and strengthen us in our weakness, and to remind us of the gospel.

The Scripture is chock-full of exhortations to be in community in the fight against sin:

• Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
• Hebrews 3:12-14 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
• Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

This is war. You cannot do it by yourself: the enemy is too strong, and you have blind spots. You are weak by yourself, but there is strength in numbers. God has given you brothers in arms! You are not alone in the trenches, you have fellow soldiers who are going through the same temptations and struggles you are. Open your eyes and call out for help! Advance on the enemy together, like the Spartans in the movie 300: locked shield to shield, an impenetrable force operating as a single unit. 

What does this look like practically? Consider these applications:

• Seek Out Brothers: Get involved in a deep community of folks who together are pursuing holiness and maturity in Christ. If you don't have this, GET THIS. You may have to be intentional, even pioneering, and CREATE this community. Share with a brother about your struggle with porn. Share with a sister about your struggle with cutting. Share with a small group about your struggle with anger. Reach out and come into the light (1 John 1:9) there is such freedom in being open! Likewise there is real danger in being a Lone Ranger, so don't go it alone or you'll be a sitting duck. And don't just seek out brothers once in some big display of repentance, but seek out brothers often, maybe even DAILY as you fight temptation and face failure. 
• Practice Radical Confession and Accountability: What happens when you fail? James 5:16 says we should confess our sins to one another and PRAY for each other so that we can be healed. Confession is not just done to God, but to our brothers. Our sin is made public! Sin thrives in secret, but if we drag it out into the light it loses its power. Confess your sin! Betray it, don't protect it any more in the darkness! And then get accountability. Have brothers followup with you about it, ask them to pray for you every week. Share with them your battlefield of when and where you're most tempted. Ask them to ask YOU about it.Tell them that they have permanent free access to bring up this topic with you every week. Richard Baxter writes, "If less means prevail not, open thy case to some able, faithful friend, and engage them to watch over thee; and tell them when thou art most endangered by the temptation. This will shame thee from the sin, and lay more engagements on thee to forbear it...It would be hard for thee to sin thus if it were but opened."
• Help Others: Realize this, friend: you are not the only one struggling! Open your eyes to the hurting people around you. They're in the trenches of sin, fighting with all they can, but they're discouraged and tired and lonely JUST LIKE YOU. Reach out to them, ask them how they're doing, and PRAY with them. You will be surprised how encouraging it is to YOU and how much new strength comes into YOUR fight as you pour out into others to help them in THEIR fight. Text someone! Grab a lunch! These are your brothers around you, they need your encouragement and accountability. 

Strength in numbers,

The Relentless Fight

Three Strikes You're Out

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40 ESV

Jesus said these are the top 2 commandments, and every other commandment hangs on these two biggies. That means that if you commit murder, you've already broken the first two commandments: you aren't loving God (you're destroying His creation) and obviously you're not loving that person that you just killed. Or consider slander and gossiping: you aren't loving God (by spreading lies which offends His truth, or you're dishonoring His people and giving Him a bad name if you're a Christian) and you aren't loving people (how does that girl feel when you're spreading this junk about her?)

So any sin is then automatically a triple sin. You've broken the original commandment (do not lust, do not covet, do not use obscene talk) but you've also in that very sin broken the first and second greatest commandments to love God and love others. That's three strikes. You're out. It's much worse than you think.  

This devastates us. We are much bigger sinners than we ever had feared! How do we respond to this? It feels like such a weight of condemnation. It convinces us that we could never work our way out of this by paying God back. It's like every sin comes with 3x the condemnation. When understood the right way, this news doesn't ultimately devastate us, but rather it forces us to become desperate and search for a salvation outside of us. That's when the gospel becomes even bigger!

So what do we do when we see our guilt three times bigger than before? Run to Jesus. Trust in Him three times bigger than before! See, Jesus takes our punishment for ALL THREE sins. He is the one that gets the strikes on HIS body, so that we can go free. And he was righteous for all of the commands: He loved God. He loved others. And He beat whatever sin you're wrestling with.

So rejoice, Christian! Yes, you are a much bigger sinner than you ever thought, and the wrath of God is more dangerous and more greatly deserved than you had feared. But that just highlights the EPIC SALVATION that Jesus accomplished. He didn't just pay for a little measly white-collar sin. He paid for the rampant breaking of the top 2 biggest commandments that you're guilty of again and again and again. His rescue is so much richer. Praise Him and thank Him today with gratitude and awe!

"Oh praise the One who paid my debt!"
The Relentless Fight

3 Steps in Ministering to Others

We live in a hurting world. We have pain inside us, pain around us, and sin seems to soak everything. Everywhere we turn, others are struggling in their own ways with sin and suffering. For those who are in Christ, we are called as ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) to incarnate Christ into this world and minister God's grace to hurting people. How do we do this?

You have to do 3 things, sometimes it feels like all at the same time:

1. LISTEN (encourage): The first step is to really seek to understand what they're saying. What are they going through? What's most difficult about this? How are they feeling? Where do they feel God is in the midst of it? How have they responded to their pain so far? What are they struggling with? If you are lost, try asking some of the most basic questions: Who, what, when, where, why, how? As a first and last response, PRAY.

2. GOSPEL (empower): Listening by itself is encouraging, but it isn't empowering. We need to remind our brothers and sisters in Christ of the glorious gospel. You can either ask them "How does the gospel encourage you?" or speak directly to them: Your guilt has been washed away, your shame has been cleansed, you have a new identity now in Christ so this sin doesn't define you. Christ has entered into our world and identifies with suffering, and has faced every temptation as we have, so He knows our pain. We are adopted as sons and daughters into the kingdom and are set on a trajectory of holiness and victory. REMIND them of these truths. Preach the gospel to them. Secondly, try to guide them towards gospel solutions, meaning: options and "end of the story" mindsets that are distinctively shaped by the gospel. Often in our despair we say things like "it's hopeless, I'll never change, etc." But the gospel solution is: Christ has transformed you, you do have hope, by His Spirit you are changing and you WILL change. The gospel gives us hope-filled resources. Pray that God helps them SEE the gospel.

3. FIGHT (equip): Lastly, help them to make it practical. It's not enough just to give them the gospel, you have to show them how to wield it. Give them tools, weapons, resources. Do they need Scripture? Do they need accountability? Do they need help in their repentance? Do they need comfort? Where can they make an effort to remove provision for their flesh? Where can they practically pursue holiness? Help them to do this. Help them brainstorm. Help them PRAY and ask the Spirit for His help in fighting their sin, or peace in the midst of suffering.

Seeking to help others,
The Relentless Fight

PS: For those who know the model of Love, Know, Speak, Do (from Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands) here's the connection: The basic point of Love/Know is to listen and understand the person. The most important part of speaking is the glorious truth of the Gospel. And in this scenario, the Do (call to action) is to fight against our sin.

The Battlefield

You know your fight. But do you know your battlefield?

Your battlefield is the context for the fight, the where and when and how of your temptation and failure. You can know the fight but miss the battlefield, which means you're going to get hit again and again from "out of nowhere". It'll remain a mystery. This blog post aims to dismantle that mystery and give you a tactical map for your temptation, so you can ready up and fight with wisdom.

Think through each of these categories, dissecting and analyzing your sin:

• WHAT? What particular sin are you struggling with? Don't just use a casual cultural term or water it down, rather use a biblical word. "Lookin' at junk on the internet" = sexual immorality. "Just talking too much" = selfishness & pride. "Obsessing over this guy" = lust & idolatry. "Frustration" = anger. Identify the sin for what it really is! Name it and bring it before the throne of God. 
• HOW? How do you get to your sin? Is there a method, an access point, a provision for it? If it's internet porn, what device do you use? If it's cutting, what items do you use? If it's food, is it stuff in your fridge, pantry, or out to eat? 
• WHERE? Where do you usually get tempted? Can you notice any patterns? Is it almost always in your dorm room? Is it at a certain store? Is it at the gym? With your family at home? 
• WHEN? What time of day are you usually tempted? Is there a certain day of the week? Is it usually in the evening after your roommates are all in bed? Is it in the early hours of the morning? Is it on Sunday afternoons? What is it about that time of day that is more challenging, are you tired or discouraged or lonely?
• WHO? Are there certain people that feed into your sin? Maybe a family member or an old friend from your past or a certain roommate? Is there a hot girl that you always hope is near you at the gym so you can check her out? Do you have a friend circle that celebrates sin and entices you to join?
• WHY? What is motivating you to run to this sin? Are you feeling lonely, angry, hungry, tired, discouraged? Are you feeling like you've worked hard and now you deserve to enjoy a break? Do you feel like God has cheated you and this is your way of getting what you NEED? Why are you running after THIS particular sin? What is it offering you? Pleasure? Power? Identity?

Now that you've identified what the battlefield looks like, it's time to respond. Get serious about fighting and defeating your sin. Write it down. Ask a roommate or a friend for help if you don't know the answers. Then create a battle plan based off insights you see from your battlefield. Share that plan with close friends so they can ask you specific questions and hold you accountable. You're not alone in the fight. Maybe you need to make some changes in your schedule and habits to avoid some of the most common pitfalls. Maybe go to bed a little earlier, maybe pray before you go to the gym, maybe get accountability for Sunday afternoons.

Identifying your battlefield is one of the fastest ways to know how to make no provision for the flesh like Romans 13:14 talks about. Basically, what is the supply chain for your sin? Get some insight into how you're failing. From where and when are the enemies coming? From that clump of trees to the west? Then let's set up some fences and artillery, it's stupid not to. Don't you want to be free from this scourge? Then know your battlefield.

Making war,
The Relentless Fight

No God Saves Like Jesus

Please welcome guest author Matthew Bryant! Matthew serves as Coordinator of College Ministry at King Street Church and loves seeing young people grow in Christ. He also serves as a chaplain in the United States Air Force, is married to his wife Lindsay, and is a non-identical triplet. Enjoy his exhortation, and fall more in love with Jesus!

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Saying, "No" to sin does not bring a possible death, it requires death. "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:13). This verse takes my mind to one of my favorite deliverance stories that is a constant reminder that no one saves like Jesus.

In the third chapter of Daniel, three Hebrew men - who were but boys two chapters earlier - stare down the most powerful earthly king of their time. Nebuchadnezzar was not just a king, but a king over many kings. He ruled the Babylonian Empire with absolute surety. The three Hebrews (Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego) were brought to the king because they refused to bow down and worship the king's gods or the statue that he had set up. The king had given the order that every time music, of any kind, was played that everyone in the kingdom would bow down and worship. It appears that everyone was compliant except for these three men.  Why would people from so many different nations, faiths, and ethnicities be so "compliant"? Because the king also gave the order that those who do not bow down and worship his statue and his gods would be thrown into a fiery furnace. That’s where we pick up in verse 13 of chapter three:

Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought... "to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.  But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated... Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:13-25)

Saying, "No" to the king would not only mean death was possible for the three Hebrew men, saying, "no" required death.  Deliverance, for Shadrack, Meshack, and Abenego, was a guarantee: "our God...is able to...and he will deliver us."  What the great king did not realize is that a rescue mission from an even greater king was already underway.  Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego knew this - One thing was for sure: deliverance was on its way.  Whether it was deliverance out of the flames or through the ashes.  That day they were going to meet their deliverer.

All of us have "great" kings in our lives that claim to have dominance and control over our lives.  These kings promise us that compliance to their ways is not only way easier but also more comfortable and pleasurable than rebellion.  These kings take on many different forms: addiction to pornography, an insatiable fascination with entertainment, preoccupation with working-out to pursue the perfect body, a fixation on being in a romantic relationship, escape into video games,...you name your "king."

Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego's deliverance is testimony to the frailty of our kings and their chains that bind you.  Their deliverance from the flames points us to an even greater deliverance that has already come through the Great Deliverer - Jesus Christ.  When we compare our kings to The King they don’t even come close to matching up.

• Porn may provide minutes of pleasure, but Jesus offers ENDLESS pleasure (Psalm 16:11)
• Movies or TV shows may be fascinating entertainment for the night, but the worship of God will be our ETERNAL fascination (Psalm 84)
• Preoccupation with the gym or fitness centers may provide 80 years of a nice body, but Jesus offers a NEW body that will never break down (1 Cor. 15:50-58)
• Romantic relationships devoid of Christ provide cheap intimacy, but Jesus offers a relationship with God bought with his PRICELESS blood – anything but cheap (1 Cor. 6:20)
• Video games may give the illusion of danger and adventure, but Jesus invites us into a REAL fight equipped with the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) – remember this fight requires your death (Rom. 8:13)

Jesus too, faced a "great" king in Pontius Pilate - representative of Caesar, the ruler over the whole Roman Empire.  Jesus too, chose death over the pleasure, comfort, and riches of this world.  Jesus too, went to His death but did not spare himself suffering - as he spared Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.  He took the death we deserved, baring the full weight of sin as the wrath of God was poured out on the Son.  Jesus too, just like the three Hebrews rose from the flames, rose from the grave in His Glory defeating sin and death.  Now you tell me what earthly king has dominion over you?! Our KING is greater.  Our KING is more glorious. Our KING is more powerful.  Our KING is the true KING OF KINGS.   "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." (Col. 1:15-20).  He is KING JESUS.  He was greater than King Nebuchadnezzer, He is greater than our feeble kings and idols.  He invites us to come and die to the flesh that we might live by the Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead!

For the sake of your freedom - run to His death and your own! And you too will say, like king Nebuchadnezzar, "there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." (Dan. 3:29).  No God saves like Jesus.  Amen.  

WHY is God Allowing This?!

Surprisingly, asking the question "Why is God allowing this?" provides great encouragement. It is not a faithless question, though there often is anger and pain mixed with it. It is difficult to ask, and even more difficult to answer. But great fruit comes from answering it.

Maybe you can relate to this: You're TIRED of struggling with this besetting sin. Maybe it's porn, masturbation, cutting, alcohol, anger, an eating disorder, drug use, selfish speech, pride, people pleasing or manipulation, or just some "garden variety" idolatry. Sometimes there are certain struggles that just drag on and on and they exhaust us. You may feel like, "It is killing me, it is stealing my joy, it is what got Christ crucified. Why is God not stopping it? I have prayed, cried, begged him for help. I have fought with EVERYTHING in me, and yet I still fail. WHY!? Does God not care? This sin is an offense against his glory! Does He not have the power to save and redeem? Why is heaven silent?? Why is God ignoring my prayers??"

Christian, this is a deep place of suffering. But it is not a place without God. The Psalms have much to say about this experience, and many psalmists have been in this place of feeling like heaven has closed its doors and God is distant. Psalm 13:1-2 puts it well, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

"Why is God allowing this struggle?" It's a very hard question to ask and begin to answer. It makes you wrestle with God in a very deep way. As you ask it, questions come up of God's sovereignty, God's goodness, His faithfulness to His promises, whether He is trustworthy at all, whether the Gospel is true, and whether you will trust God's wisdom by faith even when you don't see any reason for why He's doing what He's doing. This is not intro-level wrestling, this is the real meat & potatoes. This is where godly saints are forged.

But if you phrase the question a little differently, you start to turn the flavor. "What good is God bringing out of my struggle?" Ah, then you begin to open your eyes to see ALL the hundreds of ways that God is at work. Though there usually is not ONE single big answer for why God is doing this (He's much bigger than that), we can draw several TRUE answers from Scripture. Here are several for your encouragement:

• God's Glory: This is the MEGA-answer from all of Scripture. The glory of God is THE premiere reason why God does everything He does. But this is not a simple answer, nor is it a sterile and unsatisfying one. The aim for which God does all things is the exultation and display of His majesty and beauty, for the satisfaction of those who find their joy in Him. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is for us to see His glory. The purpose of our eating, drinking, and everything is God's glory (1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:17, 1 Peter 4:11). The ultimate purpose of the universe is God's glory, and even our sin is subsumed into this epic purpose. Peter says this well in Acts 2:23, linking together God's purposes and man's sin, "This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." 
• God loves slow change: God has the power to change us in one instant. He could set us free from our struggles with sins just as easily as a child snaps the head off a dandelion. But often He doesn't. Often God lets us struggle slowly and learn holiness one step at a time. Elyse Fitzpatrick comments, "In our modern, microwave, zap-it-for-ten-seconds culture, we have become extremely impatient. We believe so strongly in our own ability to find quick and easy answers that we get frustrated when things take time. The kind of changes that God desires to make in us will take time - there's no denying that." (Page 151 from Love to Eat Hate to Eat). This steady slow growth often is God's method of helping us to get to know HIM as we struggle and wrestle through this sin and temptation. Slow growth also teaches us PATIENCE and dependence on the Lord for His timing. 
• God specializes in bringing good out of evil: Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, yet in Genesis 50:20 he claims, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Although this is speaking of suffering and not sin in particular, the principle stands of God's ability to bring good even out of evil. Our sin against God is certainly evil, yet He has the amazing ability to reverse and redeem even our worst sins somehow for good. LOOK for how He might be doing this. Believe that He can. 
• Greater hatred and violence against our sin: Frequent failures can be greatly frustrating. Use this to your advantage. Get angry against your sin, hate it more and more. Be strengthened in your fight and nurture your passion for holiness. Remind yourself of all the pain and suffering this sin brings, and let that fuel your violence. Remember that you are in a WAR, so put on that wartime mentality. Let it give you greater urgency for growth and strengthening. 
• Empathy for other strugglers: When you fail, you develop compassion for others who fall. Maybe they don't fall in the same way, but you both experience that same rush of guilt and shame and anger. Let that move you TOWARD them in encouragement, gospel-reminders, giving them life and hope, and helping them with practical accountability. Help others with the same help that you yourself need. 
• Protect you from pride: Imagine if there was no failure! Imagine how prideful you would become. You would quickly think that you had no need for the gospel, no need for growth or spiritual discipline. Imagine the arrogance and disdain you could develop for those who are still struggling. They are weak, compared with your strength. And gradually God becomes irrelevant. Thank Him for the humbling that He is providing to you through this long struggle. 
• The presence of a fight shows that God is at work: Be thankful that there even IS a fight. If the Holy Spirit was not in you, there would be NO fight, just your flesh ruling over you and unchallenged love for your sin. 
• To help you fight OTHER sins: John Owen has profound wisdom on this point from his classic The Mortification of Sin in Believers as he chastises us for fighting against ONE sin but allowing others to walk free. He writes, "If you hate sin as sin, every evil way, you would be no less watchful against everything that grieves and disquiets the Spirit of God, than against that which grieves and disquiets your own soul. It is evident that you contend against sin merely because of your own trouble by it. Would your conscience be quiet under it, you would let it alone. Did it not disquiet you, it should not be disquieted by you. Now, can you think that God will set in with such hypocritical endeavors - that even his Spirit will bear witness to the treachery and falsehood of your spirit? Do you think he will ease you of that which perplexes you, that you may be at liberty to that which no less grieves Him? No. God says, 'Here is one, if he could be rid of this lust I should never hear of him more; let him wrestle with this, or he is lost.' Let not any man think to do his own work that will not do God's. God's work consists in universal obedience; to be freed of the present perplexity is their own only." Note the strange mercy of God, "Let him wrestle with this, or he is lost."
• Good Discipline: The Lord often brings suffering and difficulty into our lives for our discipline and instruction. He does this because He is good, and He desires us to share in His holiness. Sometimes the only way for us to grow is for Him to discipline us, so we should thank Him and be grateful that He doesn't just let us go in our sin. Pray for Discipline. John Owen writes again, "How do you know but that God has suffered the lust wherewith you have been perplexed to get strength in you, and power over you, to chasten you for your other negligences and common lukewarmness in walking before him; at least to awaken you to the consideration of your ways, that you may make a thorough work and change in your course of walking with him?"
• Knowing Jesus more: One of the great benefits of struggling with our sin is knowing Jesus more. It will cause us to press into Him more deeply, to trust in Him more urgently, and to cling to His cross more desperately.
• Deeper knowledge and joy in the gospel: Nothing shows you the depth of your brokenness like struggling with ongoing sin. It humbles you, it shows the power of your sin, and CONVINCES you more than anything else that you ARE a sinner. You cannot save yourself, and you NEED a Savior. This is painful but precious fruit. We wish there was another way. We wish that God in His sovereignty would choose differently. But this is the path He has given. You cannot know deep joy in the gospel unless you know the deep guilt of your sin; THEN you will know the depth to which Christ has dropped to bring you up from the muck. 
• Self-Control and Spiritual Strengthening: Struggle can strengthen you. Temptation can be your gym. Let this fight be that which builds your self-control and strengthens your spiritual muscles. Use it to grow in Scripture memory, in faith, in violent repentance. Do not waste this fight! 
• Some other mysterious good reason: If we believe that God's character is good, then even if we don't have a good reason, we know that God is doing this for good. We can trust Him as our loving Father. He has demonstrated His love to us in the Cross, how can we claim He is anything else other than good and merciful and kind? Let us wait for the Lord, and be courageous (Psalm 27:14)

Are you encouraged, Christian? Do you see the good that God could be bringing through your struggle with this besetting sin? He has not abandoned you. He is using even this evil for great good. Be encouraged. So in closing, a few thoughts on application:

• ASK the question for yourself: Why is God allowing this? How is God bringing GOOD out of my EVIL?  MEDITATE on it and write down at least 5 things: Maybe you see softness of heart, deeper gospel knowledge, dependence on him, patience, self-control, spiritual strengthening of the muscle of faith. Choose to SEE the goodness that God is creating, and be encouraged. Which answer in the list above was most encouraging to you?
• Ask the question of others: Hopefully there are people in your life that know you well, maybe a roommate, spouse, close friend, family member, or mentor. Ask them how they have seen God bring good out of your sin struggle. Ask them to remind you of what the Scripture says for our encouragement about why God allows evil to flourish for a time. Beg them to remind you of the gospel and God's good character, lest you forget and give up the fight.

Questioning and trusting,
The Relentless Fight