THE GOOD LIFE

THE GOOD LIFE

“God is unwilling to be your means to what you call the ‘good life.’ Your relationship with him must be your definition of the good life.” – Paul David Tripp, “New Morning Mercies”

These thoughts swirl around in my heart and mind as I wrestle through my desires and the decisions before us. We believe in God’s good gifts. And we know we were created to live an abundant life – not just eternally, but here, today. But today I am reminded to evaluate the deepest yearnings of my heart in alignment with the truth above. The greatest life is not one lacking in suffering, pain, and surrender. Neither is it one that beholds abundance, ease, and command in life. Instead, it is one that finds significance, fulfillment, and delight in Jesus as THE good life, amidst the suffering, abundance, pain, ease, and more that life brings.

I have not suffered like many have. I have not had pain like some. But I have wrestled through seasons of life when I felt abandoned, unheard, unfulfilled, betrayed, and broken. These periods instigated a leaning into Jesus that brought such fulfillment and belonging beyond what I could ever imagine. I grew in my faith in ways that I never expected. Jesus was the good in the darkest of days.

I’ve never experienced abundance like some have. But we have entered into a new season of life where the Lord has given abundantly to us. He has used Young Living to bless us financially in ways we never imagined. We have the ability to choose where we will live and work. And though we have been given freedom to enjoy the fruit of His blessing and our hard work, it is not in these good gifts themselves that we have found the good life. Our greatest reward is and always will be Jesus. Everything else is secondary. Everything else is meant to point us more toward our relationship with Him.

We continue to make our list of pros and cons of each potential location where we might live. We know the Lord hears the cry of our hearts and knows what we truly need. And He frequently delights in giving us above and beyond those needs. But ultimately, we are reminded that these temporal pleasures are not what will determine our decision. We live with eternity in our hearts. We live to fulfill the calling of the gospel – to become more like Jesus, and in doing so, to lead others to know Him and become more like Him. We will trust Him to lead us to what is best for our good and His glory. And we will pursue our relationship with Him, regardless of where we live, to truly experience and live the good life He has called us to.