The very thing I tried not to do, that’s what I did. My dad and I enjoy a particular author who published a new series. Walking into the airport bookstore, I bought the first one. At least that’s what I thought, but when I got on the plane, it was the second in the series. No way was I going to read it, so I tucked it in my bag and waited. After I got home, I ordered the first one and loaned it to my dad. He read and returned both of them, but I put them away until later. Then I picked one up and read the immediate and intense action, and when I finished reading it, I started the next one, except it was actually the first one. All through the development of relationships, I knew the son-in-law was going to kill his father-in-law to save his country. I know, spoiler alert, but you don’t know the series, so there.
Spoiler alert: why we want to know how it all turns out
I wonder why we want to know how it all turns out. Knowing what is coming would keep us from cherishing what is in the present. In fact, there is a whole lot we’d miss.
Wanting a happy ending
At first, my faith reached superhuman levels. You know, what the enemy intended for harm, God uses for good; all things work together for the good of those who love Him; if you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart; ask in faith you will receive. So, I sat on the edge of my hope, believing the promises and waiting for God to show up with His great miracle.
The needle didn’t seem to move, though my resolve stayed solid. Doubt flickered in the eyes of others pelted my shield of faith like a spray of pebbles, but I kept it raised. When my arms got tired, I peeked around the bend of uncertainty wondering how it would all turn out. My grip on hope slipped, threatening to slide me into the crevice of despair simply because the end was unknown.
God ignored all my suggestions and didn’t answer my persistent prayers. Instead, He gave me a new heart; one that settles in and rides along on His eternal journey, trusting that He knows where we are going even if it’s not the destination I packed for.
He gave me new life and more importantly new perspective that rescued me from focusing on the vapors of perishable to the rewards of permanent.
Do you want to skip to the end of your story?
Living between crushing pain and the hope of healing, we want to skip the rest of these chapters and turn to the storybook end; the one where the hero is vindicated and the enemy defeated. After all, God redeems everything.
Though God’s promises are clear, the application is in us, not our circumstances. God does redeem all things and uses them for good, but let me be honest, it sometimes feels bad, really bad, especially when you can’t see why or how or when.
I thought if only someone would pull back the curtain and let me peek into the future, then I could keep breathing, but the mystery of the last chapter suffocated me. Begging for an alternate ending, I cried out for a sneak peek of all that redemption coming. Instead I sat in the dark, just me and my faith, with no assurance at all.
Uncertain future
The truth is that if I would have known the land mines that would go off in my life, I would have quit, laid down my hope and walked away.
God only gives us the grace we need for the moment we are living in- our daily bread. Faith is like manna, it cannot be stored, it falls fresh every day in proportion to our need, but we still have to go out with our jar of hope to collect and fill.
How does it all turn out?
I still don’t know if there’s an epic adventure ahead or a tragic ending, but here’s what I still know:
God is faithful and that’s all that matters
His presence never leaves, though it’s sometimes hard to find
His word is true
His promises still stand. Oh, not the promise that you’ll get that happy end you wrote in the script, but rather the promise that He knows the end, He is the author of our faith, and His glory is the goal.
That doesn’t guarantee your happiness, but it does guarantee your peace until the final curtain falls and His purposes are revealed.
Yesterday, I talked a bit more about this on my Facebook page. I hope you are joining me on Fridays for Facebook live. If not, you can like my page and catch the replay HERE.
