Hoping for Happiness

A biblical framework for living a grounded, hopeful, and genuinely happy life. Everyone wants to be happy, and we all pursue happiness in different ways. Some people are thrill-seekers; others are homebodies. Some people are loners; others love big families or communities. Some people express things creatively; others consume what is created. Some sing; others listen to music. Whatever we find happiness in, we are united by our desire for work that matters and relationships that fulfil. As Christians, we often fall into the trap of basing our hopes on earthly things, even when we know they only make us happy for a short time. But how are we to experience happiness in this life? How do we avoid expecting too much of earthly things and being disappointed, or expecting too little and becoming cynics? In this book, recovering cynic Barnabas Piper helps us to throw off both the unrealistic expectations that end in disappointment and the guilty sense that Christians are not meant to have fun. He shows how having a clear view of the reality of the fall and the promise of redemption frees us to live a life that’s grounded, hopeful, and genuinely happy.

1. Opening Credits
2. Introduction
3. Chapter 1: Living the Dream
4. Chapter 2: Expecting Just Right
5. Chapter 3: Hanging Happiness on Weak Hooks
6. Chapter 4: We Live Cursed
7. Chapter 5: That's My God's Truth
8. Chapter 6: Evangeliguilt
9. Chapter 7: Living in Times of Trouble
10. Chapter 8: Don't Fear the Reaper
11. Chapter 9: Does God Want Me to Be Happy?
12. Chapter 10: Happiness and Holiness
13. Chapter 11: The Pleasure of the Promise
14. Chapter 12: Growing in Grounded Happiness
15. Postscript: Four Final Questions
16. Closing Credits