This past week a viral video showed police pulling people over in a small town. I'd show you the video but most of the drivers start cussing as their pulled over! Everyone hates being pulled over! The officers would ask each driver if they'd heard of Illinois code XYZ123 something. One lady gave an incredulous, "NO!" Another broke down in tears. The drivers had told themselves a definite story what being pulled over is always about... But then the officers would ask how many occupants were in the car, only to disappear and return with ice cream!
We're all shaped by stories. We tell ourselves stories about everything. Not just about being pulled over, but literally every aspect of life.
Now I've spent my life growing up in a safe, white, educated, Christian, middle-class family in the rural cornfields of Illinois. From infancy, my parents, and many others, shared the story of God with me. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." :: "For God so loved the world, he sent his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but inherit eternal life." :: "We're saved by grace, through faith. . . not by works, less anyone boast." :: "I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord God almighty, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future." :: "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." :: "We exist for the praise of God's glorious grace." "On the day Christ returns God will judge men's secrets." This one story has shaped my life more powerfully than any other.
But there are rival stories. For example, if you go to the University you're told... In the beginning, there was a chance collision of molecules and life just happened. Millions of years ago we climbed out of some African swamp and evolved from some tadpole-like existence into monkeys, apes then hominoids, and now here we are.
Or we're taught. . . God is not good. God is not great. In fact, there is no God. He's scientifically implausible, a myth, a fabrication foisted upon us by evil men to justify their violent conquests of people and land throughout history [Promise Land].
Or we're taught. . . There is no real truth, there are no real moral standards, or final judgment. Our only purpose in life is that which we create for ourselves. To each his own. Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die. [Burning Man Festival].
Every book we read, film we watch, or song we enjoy... tells a story laden with beliefs & assumptions about life. These stories are told & retold by family and friends, reinforced by our culture. We aren't always cognizant... and we don't always analyze the stories that shape us. But that doesn't mean we're any less influenced by them.
So here is the bad news. Our stories can keep us from God's very best. Our stories can utterly ruin us. But then here is the good news: In Jesus, God invites us to live a better story... to enter into His story... to see things as God sees them!
When you read your Bible, it's all about people, from cover to cover. Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah & his family, Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & Esau. The Bible is a collection of individual stories where people we're living one definite story... with a definite set of beliefs and assumptions about God and reality... but then through a sequence of events... each person learns to live a better story... God's story.
As you analyze each story, you'll notice people living out a series of storylines ...
First, there is the storyline/season of blessing –
In Genesis 1, God created the heavens and the earth. "And created man in his own image, male and female he created them, and God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth, subdue it, I give you every [thing]. . ."
In Genesis 12, God promises Abraham, "I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. . . all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
In a compelling fashion, the Bible lays out God's loving intention to bless every single person of every single tribe, tongue, & nation. For God so loved the WORLD! If we knew the heart of God, we'd run to him, and embrace him! Some people, like Enoch, managed to walk with God. Likewise Joseph, managed to stay under the umbrella of God's blessing his whole life, despite everything that happened.
But for most people, something is tragically amiss. Maybe we don't know God. Maybe we doubt his loving intention. Maybe we've rebelled against him, or perhaps even cursed God. Maybe you feel stuck, trying to forge a path of blessing all our own, without God. It's a fool's errand, a dead end. We turn from God calamity results...
Second, there comes the storyline/ season of calamity –
Adam and Eve sinned, were banished from the garden, and experienced severe consequences for their foolishness. Cain killed his brother Abel. During the days of Noah, the inclination of man's heart was only evil continually. Instead of trusting God, Abraham and Sarah devised their own schemes. Jacob deceived his brother Esau.
In story after story in the Bible, people choose wickedness over receiving God's very best. So people both sin, and are sinned against. The result is every imaginable kind of calamity: disease, sickness, and death... floods, plagues, and pestilence... idolatry, greed, murder, and violence. Wars, famines, natural disasters, human tragedies.
Maybe calamity has been the dominant storyline in your life. Maybe it's because of choices you've made. Maybe it's because of the evil someone has done. With few exceptions, there is some form of calamity in every story you read in the Bible. The Bible never sugarcoats the utter pain and anguish people suffer apart from God.
Third, there is the storyline/season of awakening –
As you read along, in story after story, there are almost always these moments of awakening, these "aha" moments, when people come to their senses. And they realize that not only does God exist, but God has neither abandoned them nor forsaken them. For all the calamity that befalls people in the Bible, there is infinitely more pursuit. God pursues sinful man, even to point of sending his One and Only Son!
One of my favorites sections in the Bible are the Psalms. The Psalms almost always begin with some kind of lament, or complaint. But then there is that moment when the Psalmist realizes that God has been there all along, and he breaks out in praise!
Maybe you're coming out of a season of calamity into a season of awakening... and for the first time in a long time, you're genuinely seeking God. You sense his presence and power, and that his hand is upon you, gently guiding you. You're beginning to hunger/thirst for righteousness. You're experiencing answered prayer. Your heart is becoming alive to the things of God. The Bible promises if we draw near to God, he'll draw near to us.
Fourth, there is the storyline/season of hope –
A season of awakening gives way to a season of hope. This is when we realize that God isn't just willing to forgive our sins, he's willing to once again pour out his salvation blessings on our lives.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Nehemiah. The story begins with calamity. The city of Jerusalem has been decimated by God's enemies. People are in great trouble and disgrace. The city and its gates have been burned with fire. We're told how Nehemiah sat down and wept. For days he mourns and fasts and prays before the God of heaven.
But then he has this moment of awakening, an epiphany. He realizes there is hope! He prays, "O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and you're eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins that we Israelites, including myself, and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.
Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses saying, "if you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.
They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your might hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant to the prayers of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor. . ."
You can read the rest of the story. But in a season of hope, we stake our claim to every promise of God in Christ Jesus. God forgive us our sins. God purify us, and sanctify us by your holy word. God rescue us from the power of sin and death. God pour out your blessings--bless me with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Hope is all about tangibly trusting God in the midst of whatever calamity you're facing.
God promises those who trust in the Lord will NEVER be put to shame. And as you read story after story in the Bible, you'll see that God ALWAYS keeps his word. Which brings us to a fifth and final storyline...
Fifth, there is the storyline/ season of God's faithfulness –
Maybe you have a testimony about God's faithfulness in your life. You staked claim to God's promises and he came through in an undeniable way. As you look at these five storylines, or subplots, which most shapes this season of your life? Which do you most want to shape the next season of your life?
I believe our faith is enriched to the extent that we experience all five storylines, and not just any one. And I also believe we can't skip seasons. We have to learn to trust God through each season. Next week, we're going to unpack what it looks like to actually trust God and get about living the better story God has for us.