Hope Makes The Heart Glad

In her novel, Hope Makes the Heart Glad, author Marjorie Linton validates biblical promise that God is absolute good, equally present everywhere and within everyone. She affirms the absolute truth that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Because God is absolute good and equally present everywhere, good is, therefore, the essence of everything. No matter how severe circumstances are, God can turn any difficult situation around into a blessing. A situation may appear hopeless when we have exhausted all options and human resources, but because of the nature of God, which is absolute good, hope is a mainstay and, therefore, alive with unlimited possibilities. Marjorie Linton shares in her book how in our humanity, we become hopeless when we seek quick solutions to complex challenges. She concedes that until we surrender to the will of God, we may sometimes experience hardships for years. Nevertheless, every challenging experience has an underlying good. We see limitation only, based on our perception. There are no coincidences, no errors, no misfortune; only lessons to be learned and good to be experienced. Poet William Shakespeare once said, "There is nothing good or bad, but thinking that makes it so." As individuals, we are inherently good. However, we go through a human experience, with the ultimate goal of self-realization. Our divine purpose is to express and be the good that we are, so in our humanity, we attract individual circumstances to teach us individual lessons. Because the nature of God is good, He cannot be anything other than good, so He makes a way for us always with an opportunity to regroup. When we become truly in tune with divine presence, we will find God in every desire, every need, every heartache, and every circumstance. "Howbeit when the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). The Buchanan family in this novel proves that hope is an anchor for our souls. It is faith holding out its hand in the dark. When we meet our challenges in faith, we will rise from hopelessness to hope.

The author of Desiring God reveals the biblical evidence to help us see and savor what the pleasures of God show us about Him. Includes a study guide for individual and small-group use. Isn’t it true—we really don’t know someone until we understand what makes that person happy? And so it is with God! What does bring delight to the happiest Being in the universe? John Piper writes, that it’s only when we know what makes God glad that we’ll know the greatness of His glory. Therefore, we must comprehend “the pleasures of God.” Unlike so much of what is written today, this is not a book about us. It is about the One we were made for—God Himself. In this theological masterpiece—chosen by World Magazine as one of the 20th Century’s top 100 books, John Piper reveals the biblical evidence to help us see and savor what the pleasures of God show us about Him. Then we will be able to drink deeply—and satisfyingly—from the only well that offers living water. What followers of Jesus need now, more than anything else, is to know and love—behold and embrace—the great, glorious, sovereign, happy God of the Bible. “This is a unique and precious book that everybody should read more than once.” —J.I. PACKER, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia