Lost in the middle

I recently read the book Lost In The Middle, by Paul David Tripp. It is billed as being about midlife and the grace of God, but it provides insight and valuable instruction for Christians of all ages. Tripp writes at length about our dreams. He acknowledges that it is not wrong to dream but our dreams are like “armies of desire” warring to control us, and so he warns, “…whenever your heart becomes functionally ruled by anything other than the Lord, you are then outside the purpose for which you were created.” It is easy to see how the biblical principles discussed apply in your own life because the author’s description of individual experiences and mistakes includes husbands and wives, single people, business men, and pastors. He describes how some drifted away from a close walk with the Lord and what it took to recover them. Under the caption, “Greet your disappointment and pain as a loving warning,” he says: “…our moments of deepest heart disappointment are God’s alarms sounding, alerting us to spiritual dangers that we would not be aware of any other way. In the painful realization of the death of your dream, hear the loving alarms of your Lord and Redeemer. These are not sounds of unfaithfulness and inattention. They are the sounds of grace. He is alerting you to the life-altering danger of a wandering heart before it is too late. Your pain is an instrument of his love. Your disappointment is a tool of his grace.” You may feel lost in the middle because of your station in life or because of the difficult circumstances with which you are trying to cope.  Paul Tripp provides sound biblical instruction on how to find your way. Lost In the Middle is available for purchase from our store > Watch Paul Tripp's book interview: