John Piper is a wonderful preacher, writer, and spokesman for Jesus Christ, and author of the book and ministry Desiring God. He coined the now-famous phrase:
“God is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him.”
Piper said he did not make it up but paraphrased something he read from Jonathon Edwards.1
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this statement—whether it’s true and why. I have listened to over half of John Piper’s podcasts, Ask Pastor John, but I have never heard him expound specifically on why this statement is true. He probably has.* Nevertheless, it is always beneficial to deeply ponder God’s truths for ourselves.
So below are my thoughts as to…
Why John Piper’s Slogan
“God is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him”—is True
When we are most satisfied in Him:
1. We are acknowledging that He is God.
This includes all His wonderful attributes and the truth of what He says in His Word—that He is The Truth (Jn 14:6).
2. We humbly and gladly accept God’s sovereign rule over our lives.
We are confidently trusting in God’s love, goodness, power, and wisdom to work all things together for our good and His glory (Rom 8:28).
3. We are putting God first.
We acknowledge that only in Him is there true satisfaction; no other thing or person can fill us like He can. This attitude pleases and honors God. We are fulfilling His command to put Him first—above everything (Mat 6:33).
This also means we are eliminating idols from our lives. We are no longer looking to anything or anyone else to meet our deepest needs or fulfill our desires.
4. We will often sense His presence and experience joy.
This is a mutual joy—our enjoyment in God and His enjoyment in us.
When we sense His presence (that conscious awareness that He is with us), love, peace, and joy fill our hearts. We are confident that we have everything we need to live life in a God-glorifying way, just as 2 Peter 1:3 promises.
5. We will be motivated to live for Him.
We will desire to live in a way that pleases Him in every moment. We will want nothing to interrupt that sweet fellowship with the One who has done so much for such unworthy creatures as ourselves.
Our growing love for God will become stronger than our desire to please self. With God’s enabling grace, we will be able “to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Tit 2:12).
Please note: being most satisfied in Him does not mean we will always feel warm fuzzies. But when we entered into a love relationship with God, the fullness of Christ was given to us:
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ… (Col 2:9–10)
Because of this, we experience a deep sense of satisfaction—a sense of wholeness and contentment—because we are lacking nothing. We feel complete because in Christ, we are complete!
• We have His peace in the midst of turmoil, for Christ is the Prince of Peace. This becomes a testimony to others. (Is 9:6, Phil 4:6-7)
• We have His joy, because in His presence there is fullness of joy. This joy can then be shared with others. (Ps 16:11)
• We have His comfort in times of pain. We are then able to comfort others in the same way we have been comforted. (2 Cor 1:3-5)
• We have His love even when we think no one cares. This enables us to love others. (1 Jn 4:19)
• We have His power to do whatever He asks of us. This empowers us to obey Him and say no to temptation. (Phil 2:13, Tit 2:11-14)
• We have His forgiveness. This frees us to forgive others. (Eph 1:7, Eph 4:32)
• We have His courage when we are afraid. This gives us confidence to live by faith, not by sight. (2 Tim 1:7, 2 Cor 5:6-9)
• We have His wisdom for making right decisions, even in difficult situations. This results in more fruit for God’s kingdom. (Pr 3:5-6)
• We have His strength to endure and persevere through life’s hardships. This gives us hope for tomorrow, because Christ is our living hope. (Heb 10:35-38, Heb 12:1-3, 1 Pet 1:3)
All of these things bring glory to God!
As you can see, many of these realities have an emotional component, which is why we can feel His presence. But whether we feel Him or not, we know in our innermost being that He is more than enough—a deep satisfaction that is beyond words.
So my friend, I hope you will ponder this wonderful truth for yourself—that God will be most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him.
This post is drawn from chapter 3 of Seeing God Everywhere: Living in the Conscious Awareness of a Mighty God. If this encouraged you, you’ll find much more biblical insight and practical help inside the book—now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. For a limited time, the eBook is just $0.99.
Relevant Resources
His Joy Will Be My Joy
*Please note I have not exhaustively research Desiring God’s website on this.
Scripture taken from the New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Photo of John Piper by Micah Chiang— CC BY 2.0