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 shall look upon the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living!

Psalm 27:13

Ah, the good life. We all long for it, right? In those moments we find ourselves in unusual luxury, peace, or joy, we think "this is the good life." That's because we imagine the good life as being only the things that make us feel that way.

The pursuit of this mythical "good life" can conflict with our contentment. Tripp calls out something we've all likely said to ourselves, "If only I had..." His warning to us in this meditation is not to associate the good life with physical things (stuff, feelings, and experiences). 

When we do that, we're at risk of measuring God's goodness by how much of that he gives us. God is doing what's best for our growth by grace, not what makes us happiest in a given moment. I love the little story he gives as analogy:

Imagine a little child running to the house one afternoon and saying to his mom, "Mommy, I am hungry...I want a candy bar, a can of soda, and a bowl of ice cream." Now pretend that you respond, "I'll make you a peanut butter sandwich with some apple slices on the side." There's a good possibility that your child won't run over to his neighbor friend's house and say, "You won't believe what a good Mom I have...I asked for unhealthy treats and she responded by giving me things that were much better." Probably the more likely scenario is that the child would immediately protest to his mother, "I don't want peanut butter...I want candy...why can't I have candy?" At this moment your child doesn't think of you as the definition of parental goodness!

We know from Romans 8:28 that God is working all things (every. single. thing.) to the good of those who are called by God and love him. Christian, there is no better life than this. Nothing you have, experience, or feel is of greater value than your election into the love of God. That doesn't make hardship any less hard, but it definitely makes the good life more good. 

Questions to Consider

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

1. Be honest - if you could paint a portrait of your personal definition of the good life, what would it look like?

- God blessing my plans.

2. Are you tempted to replace joy in God's gift of himself with some physical possession, experience, or relationship? 

- Of course! But I'm often able to resist this temptation by considering the joy that is at the end of this journey and the hurt I cause myself and others when I replace God's "good" with my own.