It's good to think more deeply about the mercies of God in times of crisis. To help guide us in this effort, we'll consider Paul David Tripp's collection of meditations from Psalm 27 called "A Shelter in the Time of Storm." You can get your own copy on Amazon here.

...That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

Psalm 27:4

You don't (can't) fully know God's plan for your life, but he has one. You also may never have stopped to intentionally consider the details of your own plan (you have one too!). The alignment between those two plans is the single biggest determiner of contentment.

If your plans revolve around your own control, the accomplishment of specific professional milestones - really any "things" you want to do - contentment will be hard to find. There's way too much outside of our control and we cannot know with certainty (in areas like these) what God will do in the future of our lives.

Even good things become problematic when we insist on them. "All I want is to have a family." "I'm going to raise these children into godly adults." "I'm going to serve the Lord in [this ministry] or [this missionary location]." Those sound like good, God-honoring, activities (they are!). But if the plan of our lives is to do those specific things will we still be content if God doesn't give them to us?

What if, God forbid, he takes our children away at a young age? What if he inflicts us with an illness or disability that limits our capacity to serve? What if he puts us in a life-long position of need rather than in one of giving? Would we be content? Not if our contentment is found somewhere other than God himself. 

David wants his life to be lived in the presence of the Lord's beauty. If he can keep his eyes fixed on that, he can receive with contentment anything that comes. We know that God's plan for his children is that they would live in his house, basking in the security and joy of his presence. Make that the plan of your life and no change in circumstances can ever upend your plans. 

Questions to Consider

The questions are Tripp's. I included my answers in case they're helpful to read.

1. How close is your dream for life to the plan for life to which God has called you?

- In many ways, pretty close, but that's because of his kindness to me and not because of spiritual maturity on my part. Where they diverge most is the amount of work he wants me to do in the pursuit of love of neighbor... 

2. Is God calling you to let go of a dream so that his plan for you may flourish?

- I don't think so. I think he is calling me to pursue his plan with more intentionality and diligence.