Defiant Joy

Find the Hope to Light Your Way, Even in the Darkness

By: Jennifer Michelle Greenberg

Narrated by: Jennifer Michelle Greenberg

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Rediscover the God of joy, who defies the suffering of this broken life—from the author of Not Forsaken

“A gift to all who search for hope.”—W. Lee Warren, MD, author of Hope Is the First Dose

When Jennifer Greenberg escaped her abusive childhood home at the age of twenty-one, she found that few Christians knew how to encourage her. Platitudes such as, “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” “Forgive and forget,” and “Have faith!” left her feeling misunderstood and alone. Would she ever be whole again? Could joy exist for someone so broken?

By discarding false theology and toxic positivity, Greenberg discovered joy beyond anything she was taught in church: joy that’s a gift from God. In her new book, Defiant Joy, Greenberg shares this groundbreaking hope as she explores

• why philosophies like the prosperity gospel and legalism fail us

• how Jesus is with us amid our sadness, disappointment, anger, and anxiety

• how God’s joy far exceeds any emotion we can muster

God doesn’t want you to pretend you’re okay. Discover the freedom of living beyond performance faith. Embrace a joy that shines in defiance of the darkness.

©2024 Jennifer Michelle Greenberg (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"As Jennifer Greenberg unpacks the lies that we’ve been told in church, Defiant Joy is a respite from the spiritual condemnation sometimes lobbed at the suffering. An important book for our complicated times, Defiant Joy is a literary, warm embrace. Greenberg’s honesty, candor, and biblical insights provide a roadmap through the chaos of life and help broken people rise into wholeness through a patient, loving, and just God.”—Nancy French, author of Ghosted: An American Story

“Jennifer Greenberg is full of the right kind of defiance and the right kind of joy. This book shows us how the word “joy” is not the treacly, sentimental synonym for happiness many think it is. This book shows you how to find that kind of genuine joy, not through the shortcuts that are really cul-de-sacs, but to find it the long way around, toward a different kind of Way altogether.”—Russell Moore, Christianity Today

“Jennifer and Jesus have labored ever so gently to heal her soul, and as a result, she handles her own story with a holy tenderness. In Defiant Joy, she invites readers to do the same redemptive work, with her and Scripture as trustworthy guides. For it’s in walking the sacred path of redemption that we find great joy, the joy of our Lord.”—Traci Rhoades, author of Shaky Ground

Superb answers to the problem of pain

I first encountered Jennifer Michelle Greenberg as someone on 'my side' of the culture wars on Twitter and finally got around to listening to "Not Forsaken" almost a year ago. This was while grieving a loss and starting to attend church after along time in the wilderness. I eased up on politics and began to learn to better accept and demonstrate grace. Since I have learned so much about how many of God's people are suffering, and how badly others sometimes react to their pain.

"Defiant Joy" is a great answer to those who would ask 'who sinned, this person or her parents,' that one should suffer in various ways. Just as Christian salvation is not by works, so experiencing sorrows in this fallen world is not punishment from God. Those who have suffered from sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or many other pains can benefit from this resource, and pastors can easily dig up some sermons based on the solid information it presents.

And if your own life has not been scarred but you love someone or want to support someone who has been abused, even if you have been a source of trite responses, both books are useful in understanding what it is like to survive wrongful accusations, to experience low self-esteem, to struggle through unearned shame.