Paul Maxwell | Desiring God

Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We’re on a mission to change that. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ.

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Paul Maxwell

Paul Maxwell is a Ph.D. student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and philosophy professor at Moody Bible Institute.

Let’s Stay: A Prayer for Suicidal Young Men

Let’s Stay

A Prayer for Suicidal Young Men

If you are tempted to think that a bullet will provide greater relief than God, know that Christ himself passed through the darkness and will deliver you.

Trauma Is Not a Life Sentence

Trauma Is Not a Life Sentence

Truth can feel like a heavy burden for the hurting, but it is ultimately the only relief for the oppressed.

Can Christian Men and Women Be Friends?

Can Christian Men and Women Be Friends?

Some say absolutely not. Some say it’s a must. The Bible presents a third and better way for men and women to love one another in the church.

Christ Did Not Die for a 501(c)(3)

Christ Did Not Die for a 501(c)(3)

God builds his church because he loves people. He doesn’t love people because he built a church.

My Reputation Is Ruined

My Reputation Is Ruined

Four Ways to Respond to Public Shame

If we really knew what it meant to be loved by God, we would think less about what others think of us. Here are four ways to fight our fear of man.

Has the Church Hurt You?

Has the Church Hurt You?

Instead of telling those wounded by the church to just get over it, let’s listen closely and ask genuine questions.

Blessed Are the ‘Man-Boys’

Blessed Are the ‘Man-Boys’

People love to make fun of ‘man-boys,’ but are we subtly encouraging men to leave behind a critical piece of real, faith-filled masculinity?

The Price Isn’t Quite Right

The Price Isn’t Quite Right

Our Money-Hungry Need for More

The American Dream teaches us to love money and want more of it, but God warns us money is the root of all kinds of evil and offers us so much more.

Let the Stepchildren Come to Me

Let the Stepchildren Come to Me

God himself knows the awkward, painful realities of being a stepchild. Likely they were even more pronounced two millennia ago.

Real Men Love Strong Women

Real Men Love Strong Women

In a day when women are often outperforming men, should Christian men feel threatened? Here are three reasons we really need strong women in the church.

Walk Away from the World to Pray

Walk Away from the World to Pray

Tuesday is halfway between the entrance into Jerusalem and the crucifixion. It’s the day Jesus hits his stride.

Seven Things to Do After You Look at Pornography

Seven Things to Do After You Look at Pornography

It is in the moment after sinning that Satan does his finest accusing work. It is in this moment that we need God to do his finest saving work.

Six Truths for Dating Someone with a Sexual History

Six Truths for Dating Someone with a Sexual History

A boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s past sexual sin can become a massive obstacle in any relationship. Here are six things to consider if you’re dating someone who has a sexual history.

You Are Not Damaged Goods

You Are Not Damaged Goods

On Dating with a Sexual History

Do you have a sexual history, wrestling with embarrassment and worried what your boyfriend or girlfriend might think? You are not damaged goods.

A Place to Start for Spiritually Stuck People

A Place to Start for Spiritually Stuck People

Christians often find themselves spiritually stuck. Here are six places to start when God seems far, our hearts feel cold or wandering, and the next step is unclear.

What Getting Dumped Says About You

What Getting Dumped Says About You

Consider these five lies and five truths after a breakup.

Five Points for All Our Fears

Five Points for All Our Fears

Children face their worst fears on their beds in nightmares. Adults escape their worst fears by staying in bed. Dreams can still be scary, but reality can be terrifying. Our humility in the presence of our Father is our confidence in the presence of our fears.

Hope Beyond the Heavy Burdens You Carry

Hope Beyond the Heavy Burdens You Carry

Some of God’s greatest blessings come with burdens. As we get older, we give more to caring for the needs of those around us. Fortunately, we know that no labor in Jesus’s name is in vain. He will return one day to reveal the beauty of all you’ve done and to give you never-ending rest in himself.

Enduring the Uncertainty of Dating

Enduring the Uncertainty of Dating

A relationship with a lack of covenantal commitment often ends explosively, either in a breakup or a marriage, both forcing us to depend on God.

Did God Betray You?

Did God Betray You?

In certain moments of life — in grief, loss, and disappointment — it can feel like God hung us out to dry. Here are five things he says to those who feel betrayed.

Too Busy to See We’re Blind

Too Busy to See We’re Blind

We are a performance-driven people, which means we’re also a budgeted people. 16 hours — 1 hour of commute, 1 for eating, 9 for work, .5 for Netflix, 1 hour for devotions, and brushing our teeth in the car. We’ve…

With a God Like Ours, Who Needs Frenemies?

With a God Like Ours, Who Needs Frenemies?

On Competitiveness in Friendship

A frenemy is either an enemy disguised as a friend, or a true friend that’s become a rival. How will we respond when a friend of ours gets an opportunity or a promotion or a compliment we think we deserve? Is competition in friendship healthy? Here are five faces of frenemies.

To the Sons and Daughters of Divorce

To the Sons and Daughters of Divorce

As children of divorce, we have to see how Jesus Christ is a light in dark places, a hope for the broken, confused, and lonely. Here are ten big truths we need.

When Your Twenties Are Darker Than You Expected

When Your Twenties Are Darker Than You Expected

The human body starts dying at age 25. Here are five aspects of the quarter-life crisis, and five ways God lovingly enters the darkness of our twenties.

Put Laziness to Rest

Put Laziness to Rest

God often has a backwards way of dealing with brokenness in our world. Conquering, but not by the sword (Matthew 26:52). Defeating death with death (Hebrews 2:14). Preaching parables to bad listeners (Matthew 13:13). Fighting laziness with rest.