How much joy can we expect to get in this life? It’s a great question for you, Pastor John, who joins us over the phone today. The question comes from Cameron in Northern Ireland. “Dear Pastor John, I’m reading your book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Your description of the three stages of worship has struck a chord in my heart. I know the lowest stage well, where I feel deep sorrow for not being able to worship my Lord as I should. I’m also acquainted with the second stage, spending much of my devotional time in a state of intense longing for the full joys of God’s presence. However, I find myself only rarely able to experience the unbounded joy and satisfaction of worship which you describe, leaving me in what feels like a state of perpetually unsatisfied longing for God. How much of the Christian life is marked by an unsatisfied longing for a joy that we will not fully find in this life?” Episode 1228: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-much-joy-can-we-really-expect-in-this-life Related Resources: “How to Regain Your Joy in Christ” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cin4udRKPU “What Is ‘the Joy of the Lord’ and Where Can I Find It?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uh5Um2By5A “How Do I Pursue Joy in Christ?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTmVdLAXGsU “Do We Have Joy or Fight for It?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx6PBmWuFeU Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes, http://desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john