Book Review: "Lost in the Middle: MidLife and the Grace of God" by Paul Tripp

Often in the same breath I recommend Trusting God by Jerry Bridges and Lost in the Middle: MidLife and the Grace of God by Paul Tripp because they are two peas in a pod. Both books deal with issues I’ve encountered in my own life and in the lives of women I meet with. Both books point us back to God’s character for hope and help when we get lost along the way. When we are struggling, when those we want to help are struggling, the answer lies in the Word of God, where we come face to face with God’s character and ways. A detailed study of the doctrine of God cures most of what ails us, if we’ll take the time to meditate upon the bedrock truths of the Scriptures. Both Bridges and Tripp lead us to do just that in their respective books. (And if you’ve never read Jerry Bridge’s tome, Trusting God, do so as a companion to Lost in the Middle!)

Paul Tripp is well-known and loved for his many biblical counseling works. But of all that I’ve read from him, Lost in the Middle: MidLife and the Grace of God is my favorite. To me, it is his magnum opus, just as it seems that Trusting God was for Bridges. Lost in the Middle lovingly points out our wrong thinking about God and our circumstances, while supplying the truths from Scripture to get us back on the path of right and biblical thinking, that will ultimately heal our hearts and bring praise, glory, and honor to the Lord.

Though Tripp perceptively tackles issues unique to middle age, may I be so bold as to say, the book is for everyone at every age? Paul Tripp himself explains who his intended audience is when he writes, “Although this book is targeted at those who are struggling with the issues of midlife, it has a much broader net than that. Lost in the Middle can help all who are struggling with life in this broken world and have lost their way.” [Preface: A New Awareness, page 12]

Have you lost your way? This book is for you. Are you feeling broken and alone? This book is for you. Read through some of the quotes from the book below and you will see what I mean:

Ever been surprised about the trajectory of your life? “God doesn’t evaluate our lives the way we do. His ‘good’ is often radically different from the definition that we carry around in our minds.” [7: Painful Faith: God’s Story and Suffering, page 181]

Have you ever dealt with disappointment? “It is always important in times of suffering to ask, ‘What is wrong here?’ Midlife disappointment and disillusionment with life may be God’s alarm, pointing you to the fact that your dreams have ruled your heart more than you ever knew.” [7: Painful Faith: God’s Story and Suffering, page 189]

Have you ever found yourself sucked into a mire of shame and regret? “Peter calls you to look beyond the regret and disappointment and embrace the glory of refinement. God loves you so much that it is impossible for him to be satisfied to keep you in your dross state. Yes, you will experience loss and disappointment.” [7: Painful Faith: God’s Story and Suffering, page 200]

Ever felt numb and burned out? “Disappointment with God is often revealed by a person’s lack of enthusiasm for worship and lack of zeal for ministry.” [8: May I Speak to the Manager, Please?, page 223]

Have you ever been surprised by the dour and sour meditations of your heart? “The archeological work of midlife exposes who I have been all along. The problem is that what has been exposed doesn’t jive with who I thought I was for all these years.” [4: The Leaves are Off theTrees, page 111]

Have you ever kicked against the refining work of God in your life? “We want our lives to be comfortable, successful, and predictable. God is willing to compromise all of these in order to deal with our deepest difficulty, our own sin.” [10: Finding the Real You, page 292]

Have you ever looked desperately for relief from the circumstances of your life? “What often keeps us from recognizing the grace of God is that we long for a different kind of grace. In the middle of difficulty, we long for the grace of relief, while what God is bestowing us with is the grace of rescue. We want the trial to end because we don’t like pain, while God wants the trial to remain in our lives until it has completed its work in us.” [12: Grace that is Greater, page 331]

When we struggle to understand what our good and sovereign God is doing in our lives, Tripp observes, “God is willing to have our dreams crumble, our plans fail, and our hopes erode in order to win back the love of our hearts.” [9: Golden Calves, page 250] There is hope here in these pages for any and all of us! Don’t let the “MidLife” title put you off from reading this book soon. All of us are in the middle of something. And we need to know that the God who took us into the middle is in the middle with us and will bring us through to the end.