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.

I believe that I shal look upon the goodness of the 
Lord in the land of the living!

Psalm 27:13

This twelfth meditation is a poem on the goodness of God. Some of the themes in it are common to the other meditations we've read so far: God alone as the source of our confidence and hope, the temptation to look for that confidence in other things, and the importance of seeing created things as signposts pointing to their creator.

In the heart of this poem, Tripp considers the goodness of God at work in his other attributes. I've always found this kind of thought-exercise to be helpful. Ask yourself:

• How is God good in his sovereignty?
• How is God good in his power?
• How is God good in his faithfulness?
• How is God good in his wisdom?
• How is God good in his patience?
• How is God good in his mercy?
• How is God good in his holiness?
• How is God good in his grace?

Don't be satisfied just to say "God is good." Consider how that goodness revealed.

Questions to Consider

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

1. List 10 ways that the goodness of the Lord is evident in your life.

- I made this list but I'm not going to share it publicly. :-) 

2. Where have you been tempted to question God's goodness?

- When I think about my answers to this question honestly, the answer is "when he didn't give me what I wanted." That's pretty hard to admit.