Divine Discontent : Pursuing the Peace Your Soul Longs For

by Youssef, Michael

• ISBN13: 9781578565566
• ISBN10: 1578565561
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-01
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press

Summary

Your dissatisfaction with life can be agoodthing. Do you have a feeling that you can't shakethat life could deliver much more than you're experiencing right now? The lack of peace might keep you up at night, or it could be a steady background hum that is not quieted by bigger accomplishments or more possessions. What you crave goes much deeper. You long for an end to the inner turmoil; you crave freedom from anxiety, guilt, anger, or fear. People have sought the answer in career advancement, recreation, relationships, even religious devotion. But God's Word demonstrates that dissatisfaction with life is a spiritual problem. It's an inner thirst that can be quenched only by God. Does contentment have to remain just out of reach, or can we arrive at a place of peace and rest? Let popular author and Bible teacher Michael Youssef introduce you to biblical characters whose lives demonstrate the redemptive power ofDivine Discontent. These heroes of Scripture followed their inner restlessness back to God who, in his grace, invites all to enter his rest. Including you.

Author Biography

<b>Michael Youssef, Ph.D.,</b> is founding rector of The Church of The Apostles, an evangelical Anglican congregation in Atlanta. Founded in 1987, the church has grown from forty members to more than two thousand. Dr. Youssef is also president of an international broadcast ministry, “Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.” His daily radio program and his weekly television program are carried on hundreds of stations throughout North America and around the world. <br><br>Born in Egypt, Dr. Youssef moved to Australia at age twenty to prepare for Christian ministry, earning a theology degree from Moore Theological College. He served in pastoral ministry in the Anglican church in Australia for several years before moving to the United States, where he completed a master’s degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and a doctorate in social anthropology from Emory University. Michael and his wife, Elizabeth, are the parents of four grown children.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why Do We Keep Looking for More?	1	(6)
Understanding the Nature of Our Discontent
PART 1: THE DESIRE TO FLEE	7	(34)
1 The Root of Discontentment	9	(8)
Learning the Story That Explains Our Restlessness
2 Building a Place to Hide	17	(12)
The Rootless Attraction of the City
3 Competing with God	29	(14)
Why We'll Never Find Contentment on Our Own
PART 2: LONGING TO FIND	41	(32)
4 From Desperation to Hope	43	(16)
How Our Deepest Needs Lead Us to God
5 The Pursuit of Peace	59	(16)
At Times, God Calls Us to Enter Foreign Territory
PART 5: DISCOVERING THE PLACE OF REST	73	(18)
6 Coming Home to the God of Grace	75	(18)
Even in Our Rebellious Wandering, God Can Find Us
PART 4: DETOURS ON THE PATH TO GOD	91	(56)
7 Confronting Our Weaknesses	93	(12)
Satan's Strategy for Distracting Those Who Follow God
8 The Lie of Legalism	105	(14)
Looking at the Practice That Blinds Us to God's Grace
9 The Pitfall of Pride	119	(16)
Why Prayer Is Such a Struggle
10 Cheating Ourselves Out of Blessing	135	(12)
How Generosity Delivers Contentment
PART 5: THE END OF DISCONTENTMENT	147	(16)
11 The Divine End to Discontent	149	(14)
God's Promise of Peace and Rest Today and Forever
Study Guide: Finding Contentment in the God of Grace	163	(8)
Appendix A: A Prayer to Receive Eternal Security Through Jesus Christ	171	(2)
Appendix B: A Prayer to Renew Your Commitment to Jesus Christ	173	(2)
Notes	175