Are You Ready to Live the Good Life
If you woke up tomorrow morning and everything was just as you had hoped, what would your life look like?
Have you thought about it? Do you dream about the good life? Are you currently living it or did you just spit your coffee out of your mouth because nothing could be farther from the truth?
What is the good life? The Merriam Webster dictionary offers 2 different examples…
1. the kind of life that people with a lot of money are able to have – ex. She grew up poor, but now she's living the good life.
2. a happy and enjoyable life – ex. She gave up a good job in the city to move to the country in search of the good life.
Doesn’t it seem strange that those examples do not have anything in common? One says you need money and the other says you need to give it up and live more simply. Even the dictionary is having trouble identifying what the good life really is. How are we supposed to find it if we cannot even identify it?
So… what if we found a good definition for what the good life really is and what if I told you it was yours to be had? Would you want it? Are you ready to live the good life?
This may surprise you, but the good life is not defined by your current situation or circumstances. It has nothing to do with your location. It not limited or fulfilled by your relationships.
Let that sink in.
This. This is the good life…
The good life is the life founded on the Good News, deeply rooted in a relationship with the Good Father, trusting all things work together for our good, using wisdom and discernment to know what is good, and choosing to do the good God is calling her to do.
Bam! That’s it. Right?
Okay, so you might be mumbling under your breath right now. It seems grandiose to think we could possibly live that way. It sounds hard. It sounds like it requires perfection. It sounds like it would entail a lot of work. But that is not the case.
The reality is we need to get out of our own way.
Let’s break it down…
1. The good life is built upon the Good News that we are in need of a Savior and God sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin. Because of His amazing grace, we have hope. Once we invite Jesus into our heart and surrender our life to Him – we have the hope of eternity and the hope of living the good life - the abundant life - starting now. It starts with Jesus.
2. We take our next step into the good life when we stop practicing religion and instead partake of a relationship with our good, good Father. He doesn’t want us to only have head knowledge about Him. He wants our heart. He is inviting us into a deeply rooted, intimate, and ever-growing relationship with Him. This requires communion – reading His word, talking with Him, engaging Him in every area of our life.
3. Once we know, truly know, that He is good, we trust that He is working all things together for our good. The hard seasons, the painful experiences, the struggles and the brokenness can all be used to grow us and draw us closer and closer still to Him. These hard times can become sweet times if we choose to abide in Him. He is everything we need; we can stop searching for what we think is missing.
4. As we grow to know Him and His goodness more, we learn to discern what is good. (Romans 12:2) The bottom line here is anything of Him is good. Anything apart from Him is not. This helps us to make better decisions, choose better friends, set better boundaries, etc. Wisdom and discernment are ours when we stop conforming to the world and allow God to do His transformational work in us.
5. We are living the good life, when we are set free to do that which is good. The good life is thinking good thoughts, speaking good words, and doing the good things. When we are on the throne of our own life, we are easy to offend, self-centered, and make poor choices. We are held in bondage to our flesh. But as AW Tozer says, “As God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once.” We are set free to experience the peace that passes all understanding, to exchange striving for resting in Him, and to walk with Him and talk with Him throughout our day.
The good life. It can be ours. Peace, joy, contentment, rest, wisdom, discernment, and God’s presence in our life is what living the good life is all about. It is not affected by our circumstances, our location or even our relationships. The good life = freedom in Him! Aren’t you ready for it? Let’s start today!
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
I am praying for you.
Love ~ Pam
p.s.
Come back next week and let’s start working through the items on the list.
Note from Pam:
Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope it blesses your heart and encourages you in your walk with God - no matter what is going on in your life. Won’t you give Him your struggle today?
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