Welcome to the Paul Tripp podcast, where pastor and best-selling author Dr. Paul David Tripp connects the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. What is it that you expect to get out of your life?

In today's episode, we're going to listen to a session from Paul's conference material, Portrait of a Struggle.

In it, Paul wants to help us navigate life in a fallen world by having realistic expectations for our lives.

If you're interested in hearing more on this topic, you can purchase the full conference at paultrip.com

slash portrait.

Here's Paul on having realistic expectations.

I want to say it this way. Sometimes I think that I forget where I live.

No, I don't mean that I'm having a senior moment and I forget my address. I think

that I don't fully understand where I live. And that's what I want to begin to talk to you about.

It's understanding that that begins to build an agenda for responding to the things that

are in your life every day in a way that's productive and helpful and deeply fulfilling.

I was a pastor in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Some of you are already smiling.

Scranton is a place where the American dream died in 1950.

Old Coal and Railroad.

I have an English friend and I was telling him once that it's really amazing when you go through the Lehigh Tunnel of the Northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, culture changes.

He says, I disagree with that. It doesn't change. It ends.

It was in many ways a hard place to be.

One Sunday afternoon, I had a man in our congregation, quite a prominent person in our

congregation, approached me and say, Paul, I really need to talk with you.

I was actually excited about that. I thought this will be an opportunity to really make a personal

impact on this man's life. He seemed upset. We decided we would get together the next

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