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.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.

Psalm 27:11

One of my (many) favorite Seinfeld episodes involves Jerry and George having the typically-male conversation about "making great time" on a car trip. Who doesn't love getting to the destination quickly and who doesn't love a shortcut?

Tripp remembers his dad uttering the common wisdom, "The shortest distance between two points is a stright line," and he applies this to the Christian life. All Christians start at one point (dead in sin, rebels against God) and end in another (glorification). While there is a theoretical straight line between those two points, that's not the experience of the Christian life, is it?

Even after our redemption, we take detours into sin, rebellion, stubbornness, and faithlessness. Two reasons Tripp suggests this happens are 1) impatience and 2) disloyalty.

We're impatient because we want to just "arrive" in the Christian life rather than live in the process of "being transformed." We want a shortcut to the destination but what God is doing to get us to that destination is an important part of his will and his work.

We're disloyal because we aren't yet fully committed to the destination. We're seeing this so much right now with the COVID19 scare. Like you, I don't want to be sick. I'm eager to see my kids grow up and enjoy more time with Daphne. And yet - these things are not the treasures I should be storing up in my heart. Attaining them should not be the greatest desire of my heart. The only "destination" to which I should be fully committed is the kingdom of my heavenly father.  

When "enemies" appear (whether like David's or like COVID19), we need to ask God to lead us on level paths toward his kingdom. This is the only way we can avoid the dangerous detours of sin and self.

Questions to Consider

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

1. Where have impatience and disloyalty gotten you off God's path?

- In the church (not just Covenant of Grace) I always want God to work more quickly than he seems to be. I take matters into my own hands and (always, without fail) make things worse. 

2. As you have been waiting, what new things has God taught you about yourself, himself, life in this fallen world, sin, and his grace?

- To use the old adage: "I'm playing checkers while he's playing chess." He sees so much more of the board than I do. He's so much smarter than I am and his plans are infinitely better than even the best of mine.