When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God - and Joy, by John Piper, is a great little book and I do mean LITTLE. I started it with a hot bath and finished when the water temperature had turned a pleasant warm. Its short and concise and almost not big enough to be a book. But then, who wants to read lots of waffly stories when one is depressed??? And who wants to hand an encyclopedia to a friend who probably does not like to read and will never finish the dang book anyway?
The book is an excellent read and is not a time waster. John Piper shows why he is a perennial favorite across the spectrum of the evangelical world and one of the most referenced pastor/writers in the blogosphere [40+ mentions a day] . .. despite not having his own blog.
Piper surprised me in this book by doing what very few Reformed writers do and by that I mean:
1. Mention DIET
2. Consider EXORCISM (and confess to turning up at one)
3. Quote George MacDonald.
Technorati Tags: books, depression
In true reformed style, Piper digs up Reformers Owen and Baxter, as well as some more recent voices (Lloyd-Jones), to speak from their situation into ours on the subject of depression. And of course he offers his own balanced, wise and biblical advice on seeing the darkness lift, and what to do when it refuses to vanish.
Want the whole book on PDF? Fine . . get it here. Cant afford the cover price on the paper version? Fine . . talk to the Desiring God folk about it their "whatever-you-can-afford policy".
Now if that doesn't lift the depression, I don't know what will.
UPDATE:
My wife is reading the book right now and she says "A book that has to be given away. Every Christian needs 3 copies of this book. One for their shelves and the other two to give away to friends suffering from depression"
OH thats just GREAT! Now I need to buy 2 more copies. That's really DEPRESSING!
OTHERS: Leavened, Cross-eyed, and Justin Taylor recommends reading some Ed Welch for some additional teaching.
RELATED:
John Piper in a Postmodern World
John Piper and the Desiring God Conference
