The Rest of the Story

I’m living in the middle of a story that is causing me a lot of anxiety. I can’t see what is happening, I have no control over the particulars. I don’t know how this will end – or when. I am keeping an open prayer line to God and running to it often when panic wants to raise its ugly head. Somebody reading this can relate. I know a father with a demon-possessed son could too.  Please take a moment and read Mark 9:17-27 to get the scope of the story.

When we read accounts in the Bible today, as Paul Harvey said, we know “the rest of the story.”  But the people in the story didn’t.  Think about this from the father’s perspective – in real-time – as he stands before Jesus with pleading eyes, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:22).  Stay in the moment as we see Jesus turn to the child and speak with authority, “I command you to come out of him and never enter him again” (v. 25).  Watch as “the spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out” (v. 26)” But wait, what did Jesus do?  The boy looks dead – like a corpse!  The father brought his boy to Jesus and Jesus made everything worse.

Now, freeze the scene right here and consider this: just as the father lived out his story in real-time, you and I are also living out our story without the advantage of a written script that tells us how it all ends.  All we know is, right now, at this moment, the anxiety is high.

“But Jesus . . .” these are the most precious words in the Bible to me.  “But Jesus took [the boy] by the hand and lifted him to his feet” v. 27).  Wonder of wonders, the boy is not dead – he is alive – and healed!  He runs into his father’s arms with a smile of triumph. His father bends to kiss his son’s head with a look of amazement and Joy.

May I remind you not to give up on Jesus?  He can see the end from the middle. That moment when all seems lost, just as it was for this father, might be the moment just before all is found. Bring your need to Jesus, give Him room to work, and don’t lose hope. Beloved, your story isn’t over yet.

Wait For It

When I quoted the verse to him, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him . . .” (Romans 8:28), the young man rolled his eyes. “Do you know how lame that sounds?” He asked. “There’s nothing good about this!”  Maybe you can relate to my friend. Life has handed you lemons – rotten lemons with rotten juice that makes horrible lemonade. Someone pats you on the shoulder and offers up The Verse. “But this doesn’t feel good,” you say, and rightly so. Life is not always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine any good. That is when we have to look at the intent of God’s heart and watch the work of His hand.

Ask Joseph whose horrible brothers sold him into slavery. He was taken to Egypt where he was falsely accused of sexual assault and thrown in prison. There, he interpreted a dream for a fellow prisoner who promised to remember him to the Pharaoh but promptly forgot. Until two years later when Pharaoh had a dream and the ex-prisoner remembered Joseph and recommended him. Joseph not only told the Pharaoh the meaning of his anxious dream but how to resolve the problem that the dream was prophesying. Impressed, Pharaoh appointed him to the second-highest position in his kingdom and Joseph saved the lives of the Egyptians – and his family – including the brothers who had betrayed him. And in doing so, he saved the lineage through which the Savior of all mankind would come. Had Joseph not made it to Egypt to stand before the Pharaoh – however harsh the circumstances – there would be no nation of Israel, no Jewish people, no Jesus, and no salvation for you and me. Joseph told his brothers, “ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20).

God’s intention is to bring good out of your circumstance and He is working toward that end. The problem is, you and I are living in the middle of the process – and it’s impossible to see the end. But remember this: God’s not done yet. What He intends, He works out. And God has good in mind for you. I know it’s hard right now. But when you get to the other side, you will understand. Give God time and room to work, Beloved. The rest of your story is still being written.

#waitforit