Customer Reviews

Desire: The Journey We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers

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Eldredge says in this book that it is thirst that drives us to what is good and that, in essence, addiction is what we use to deny or cover over the thirst. The question is "Thirst for What?" Eldredge makes an excellent case for the belief that spiritual reality is strong in us and that God has set up a place within us that can't be filled with anything else and he causes that empty place to thirst for Him.(God) If we deny the thirst we will get caught up in small stories and small addictions to deaden the thirst we feel for the ultimate reality, which is God Himself.
I think Eldredge has made an excellent case for his thesis and that we, in America at least, are so busy because we want to deny that thirst and not feel what our busyness is keeping us away from.
If you believe you are missing something in your life, this is a book that can help you discover it. I know that re-reading what Eldredge says in this book helped me draw closer to what my soul was looking for. I particularly liked the story of the sea lion, which had a piece at the beginning of each chapter.

This is the same book that was formerly called "Journey of Desire" so you do not need both! The Table of Contents are the same, even the same number of pages.

The "Journey of Desire" is a great book, so if you have not read it yet, then get this book. Check out all the reviews for that book on Amazon.com.

If you are familiar with John Eldredge's work, this book certainly has his signature style. It makes you think and develop your own conclusions. If you want a book with all the answers, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an instruction manual of how to turn your passion into riches, this is not for you. But, if you want (or need) to be prompted to get your mind around how God can use you the way he created you...to step back and see the bigger picture so as to understand how you fit in God's world, then read this book.

Although it's still hard to get the proper balance, I found this book very useful for thinking through how to desire things in life, yet let go of those desires and release them to God's will and His timing. It doesn't give you the magical solution, but it helps think through these things.

Whew! That God created me with deep desires that are signpost to guide me to become the man He wants me to be..... that is freeing. So many of us have been taught that all our desires are "of the flesh" and fall short
of true holiness. This book released me from all that into the joy of
walking in God's approval as His beloved.

Eldredge always touches me with his writing, he has a way of presenting what's in scripture and using it as a backdrop to anecdotal stories thus making stuff I kind of know already become more alive. I feel closer to God and I feel more like wanting to serve God when I read his works.

In Desire, Eldredge presents us with the fact that we all desire things, relationships, sex, food, etc., in life. We all live with desire and if desire is stuffed, shoved away, then usually we'll end up seeking out illegitimate ways to meet our needs for pleasure and pain avoidance.

By allowing our God given desires to drive us to the places God has for us, in other words, for living in such a ways as to allow the desires of our hearts (what God has built into us) to guide us with the hand of the Spirit to those places God intended us to go, then we will live lives filled with both joy and fulfillment even in the midst of hard times and pain.

This isn't some cheer leading rah-rah book, nor is it some kind of "name it and claim" type of instruction. This book is about what we already know (that we want stuff out of life) and that Jesus said he came to give us life, and to give it to us in the fullest sense of what that means. That life eludes most of us, even the best of Christians.

I strongly recommend this book.

A fasinating look at the life God desires for us, despite the restrictions many Christians believe are the path. I now understand more fully the life Christ offers us. This is mandatory reading. Utilizing the workbook makes the journey very personal and eye opening. Thought provoking and life changing.

There were some really great pieces to this book, but there were also some parts that were bothersome. I was uncomfortable with Eldredge's analogies about God and sex. Not that I am a prude, or that I I don't love God, or that I don't enjoy sex, but more that the two just don't fit together well in my spiritual view. I was also occasionally bothered by the continual references to the loss of his friend. While this is certainly a seminal moment in his life and there are many lessons to be learned from it, there are times in this book where it feels like too much of a confessional or a therapy session.

What I did enjoy about the book is the explanation of how Christian life is about desire and not the overcoming of desire. his points about asking yourself what you REALLY want, when faced with temptation have been life changing.

I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

"Desire" by John Eldredge is a good title for the person who struggles with desires and wonders what to do with them. Of course, I am not talking about illicit desires like committing a crime or the such. Instead, how about the new career area, hobby, personal goal, or some other pursuit that either has been dormant for several years or has become a recent interest? Eldredge's thesis appears to be that we should not let our duties or life obligations keep us from fulfilling those desires.

Among the points covered include:

1. We should come to God more often with our desires.
2. If we do not have deep personal desires, someone else will rule us with theirs.
3. Be careful of the idols that can distract us from who we truly are.
4. We need to give our desire for life over to God.
5. We are happiest when we are expressing the gifts that are truly us.
6. Do nothing unless it reflects your true desire.
7. The cross proves God's love for us.
8. All of our desires will find their place when we give God His place in our lives.
9. God grants us much of our heart's desire as we delight in Him (Psalm 37: 4-5).
10. To hear God, reduce the constant noise in your life.

Like other Eldredge titles, the reader is challenged to think about his or her life and see where God fits in. Actually, He must be the center!

There is one comment that I did have a problem with. Around page 169 Eldredge admits he stopped attending church for a year because he was tired of "the performance of showing up every Sunday morning with my happy face on". While I certainly sympathize with him (I actually do not always "feel like" attending church every Sunday; there have been times when I have gone through a struggle, shared it with fellow church members, and felt abandoned by their apparent lack of concern, etc.), I would certainly not give up going for a whole year. If the church you are going to is not giving you the support you need during your time of struggle, then go find another church! Church ought to be a place of safety and protection. Whenever we start to isolate ourself from our local church, we are setting ourselves up for potential problems.

Still, "Desire" is a good read and I recommend it. Enjoy.

I am a great fan of John Eldredge so perhaps this is not a neutral review, but this quiet little book is deep as a well. Since it was written just after his friend's death, the beginning is uncharacteristically depressing. But if you hang in for the ending...WOW! His description of Heaven is the best I've ever read. Forget the harps and halos--this is downright exciting. I've read the book three times now. It's a keeper.