Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life

by Amanda Held Opelt Narrated by Amanda Held Opelt

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

We often feel like the Christian life should be a happy one and we should quickly move past negative feelings and experiences. But what if the opposite is true? What if our unhappiness is holy too? This book offers true hope in our darkest days.

Discover what it means to be blessed and challenge the false beliefs many in the church hold about “the good life” and what it means to walk in communion with God.

American Christians have developed a long list of expectations about what the life with God will*feel*like.* Many Christians rightly deny the prosperity gospel-the idea that God wants you to be healthy and wealthy- but instead embrace its more subtle spin-off, the emotional prosperity gospel, or the belief that happiness and spiritual euphoria will inevitably follow if you believe all the right things and make all the right choices. In this view, frustration is deemed unholy, fear is seen as a failure of faith, and sadness is a sign of God's disfavor.*

In*Holy Unhappiness, Amanda Held Opelt, author of*A Hole in the World, grapples with her own experience of disillusionment when life with God didn't always feel the way she expected it to feel. *She examines some of the historic, religious, and cultural influences that led to the idolization of positive feelings and the marginalization of negative feelings.* Unpacking nine elements of life that have been tainted by the message of the emotional Prosperity Gospel - including work, marriage, parenting, calling, community, and church - she points to a new path forward, one that reimagines what the “blessed” life can be like if we release some of our expectations and seek God in places we never thought to look.

This is a book that asks “what good is God?” when he doesn't always make sorrow go away or soothe every fear.* It is a book that explores our aversion to sadness and counts the costs of our unrelenting commitment to optimism. This is a book that insists there is holiness to be found even in our unhappiness.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

05/22/2023

In this eye-opening offering, Opelt (A Hole in the World) examines notions of a “blessed” life that frame happiness as the product of a strong faith. The author recalls the shame she long felt because—despite living a “life in many ways, is a picture of blessedness” (healthy kids, supportive husband)—she was plagued by a “slow drip of disappointment... an ever-present anti-climax.” She traces the shame back to what she terms the “Emotional Prosperity Gospel,” or the belief that if one “make good choices... peace will be the norm and pain an aberration.” But “life is hard no matter how many good choices you make,” according to Opelt, who examines how the notion of blessedness plays out in different aspects of life, including work (“find a job you love, and you’ll be happy,” it insinuates, but frustrating or difficult labor is part of life and can even be godly) and parenting (discussing her experiences with infertility, she writes, “the idea that my womb was... averse to my God-given purpose as a woman was crushing”). For Opelt, “developing a tolerance for hard feelings,” instead of seeking unequivocal happiness, allowed her peace. Weaving in biblical passages and intimate personal anecdotes, Opelt delivers both a sharp critique of the emotional prosperity gospel and a soulful, autobiographical search for meaning. This provides much food for thought. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

Eye-opening…Weaving in biblical passages and intimate personal anecdotes, Opelt delivers both a sharp critique of the emotional prosperity gospel and a soulful, autobiographical search for meaning. This provides much food for thought.”
 —Publishers Weekly

“Holy Unhappiness is the gospel for our pain and difficulty. I can’t commend the tenderhearted approach that Amanda embodies here enough. A balm for the soul. And hope for our scars. What a glorious read.”
 —A.J. Swoboda (PhD, University of Birmingham) is the associate professor of Bible, theology, and World Christianity at Bushnell University and the author of After Doubt.

“For years I have struggled to be honest with myself when navigating my negative feelings. I would rush past them in my attempt to be faithful through trial. Amanda brings up a conversation that more of us need to be having about what the Christian life actually looks like. Holy Unhappiness will give you permission to be yourself.”
 —Heather Thompson Day, Author of I'll See You Tomorrow

“Amanda’s lovely blend of reflection and memoir flows from a heart acquainted with grief and unsatisfied with the cheap remedies our churches and culture too often prescribe. This is a work of immense honesty and prophetic clarity.” 
 —Chuck DeGroat, PhD, LPC, Professor of Pastoral Care and Christian Spirituality, Interim D.Min. Director, Western Theological Seminary

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176928358
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	907,034

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