THE STORY OF OUR LIVES - Part 3 of 3

When we are passing through those awful chapters and difficult seasons [of life], we sometimes cannot see God or imagine how things will work out. But when we look back over our lives, in hindsight, we see how God moved the plot forward, enfolding it into the story of God’s redemption in our lives.

Here is what I know -- God can and will transform our pain, redeem our suffering, and lift us out of the darkest pits. Out of our dark moments, God writes a story of triumph. With God as our co-author, the dark times are never the end of the story…

Your story is not complete; the remaining chapters are yet to be written. God’s plan for your life is not yet set in stone; you have a chance to shape the story. As you do, this is God’s will: that you “lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10) 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Why? - Making Sense of God’s Will”

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THE STORY OF OUR LIVES - Part 2 of 3

The biblical story reminds us that the difficult chapters are never the final chapters of our story. Think about just a few of the many stories in the Bible that include adversity and pain but ultimately end in triumph.

Joseph, when he was in prison, could not see that one day soon he would become Pharaoh’s right-hand man (see Genesis 39-41). Naomi, while mourning the death of her husband and sons, could not see that the children of her daughter-in-law Ruth would start a family line that would one day lead to the greatest king Israel would ever know, and that Naomi’s mourning would be turned to laughter. The Israelites, while being led away from the promised land by their Babylonian conquerors could not see that within fifty years their children would return home singing. And the disciples, as they watched Jesus crucified, could not know that on the third day He would rise from the dead. 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Why? - Making Sense of God’s Will”

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THE STORY OF OUR LIVES - Part 1 of 3

Some chapters in our lives are marvelous mountaintops filled with joy. Recently I officiated at the wedding of a wonderful young couple. Seeing their happiness, listening to the bride’s father toast his daughter and brand-new-son-in-law, and watching the kids dance together was a moment of joy. Kids going off to college, babies being born, big promotions coming our way, these are joy-filled chapters of our lives. You may be in the midst of one of these chapters right now. You never want this chapter to end.

But any great story includes its share of conflict, challenges, struggles, and pain. Yours will include these as well, not because God brings pain into your life, but simply because pain is a part of every life.

Right now you might be walking through one of the difficult chapters in your life. Perhaps you must persevere through the death of someone you love or find hope when you have been out of work… Maybe your marriage has just ended, or you are facing a frightening illness. You don’t know what the next chapter will hold, but you trust that there will be a next chapter.

The biblical story reminds us that the difficult chapters are never the final chapters of our story. 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Why? - Making Sense of God’s Will”

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CALMING STORMS

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  (John 14:27)

If you’ve ever been caught in a powerful storm, you know that chaos reigns… Swirling winds and flying debris. Chaos. This is what storms produce. Not just the ones that form in the sky, but also the ones that form in our lives…

Can you relate? Are you caught in a storm of your own right now? Do you find that shifting emotional winds have you leaning first one way and then another? Have you been coldcocked by flying debris? Have things become so confusing that you don’t even know what’s right anymore? And are you so weary of it all that you almost don’t even care? If so, remember that our Lord’s words can bring order out of chaos….

Right now, before the storm batters you another day, I urge you to cast your lot with the psalmist, who said, “I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him. I have put my hope in His word.” (Psalm 130:5)

His words calm storms. 

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus”

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IN TUNE WITH GOD

"Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped." -- Jack Hayford

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)

A sheep rancher in the remote mountains of Idaho found that his violin was out of tune, and, try as he would, he was unable to make the instrument sound the way it should. A frequent listener to a radio station in California, he wrote the station concerning his problem, asking these good people at a certain hour and minute on a certain day to strike the right note for him. This they did: stopping everything else, silencing all other sounds for a moment, they struck that note. In his shepherd's hut in the distant mountains, the shepherd heard that sound, and from that single note he put his instrument into tune again.

We can so easily become confused or lose our way out there in the weekday world…, and end up totally out of tune with God. The only way we can get back in tune is through worship, where we listen for the signal-tone He strikes for our lives, for the pitch He gives by which our hearts may be put in tune [with God and with one another].  

-- Aneel Aranha

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