By Paul David Tripp
I enjoy a comfortable, predictable and pleasurable life. How about you?
If I could experience a life free from difficulty, pain, inconvenience and struggle…sign me up!
In many ways, these are God-honoring desires. The Creator invented pleasure for us to enjoy, and prior to The Fall, there was no pain, suffering or loss.
But we have to be careful.
There’s a false theology out there preaching that if you have faith in God, life will go well for you. If you read Romans 8:28 out of context, it makes sense: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.”
At the end of this famous passage about faith, we’re presented with a list of Christians who had to endure hardship, suffering and loss: and they were commended for their faith in God.
We must reject a theology that teaches that Christianity is an automatic ticket to a comfortable, predictable, pleasurable, healthy and wealthy life.
That’s the easy part, at least intellectually with our mind. What’s harder is not judging God in our hearts when he doesn’t deliver your definition of “the good life.”
You see, God never makes a mistake, nor does he ever get a wrong address. He’ll do whatever he wants to us and through us to get glory, and to redeem us.
Sometimes redemption will come through tremendous victory. Other times redemption will come through tremendous hardship. Or, a combination of the two.
Whatever season you’re in, or whatever unwanted trajectory your life has taken, know this: There’s no safer place than to be in God’s best plan for your life.
What you’re experiencing is God’s Plan A, even though at times you may want to grade it an F. There is no Plan B.
Best of all, ten thousand years into eternity, the victories and hardship of this life won’t compare to the glory that we’re experiencing, as fully redeemed children of the King!
This resource is from Paul Tripp Ministries. For additional resources, visit www.paultripp.com
