I've preached about God's narrative before. In fact, it was the focus of Advent at our church last year. NT Wright has some great insight on that here.
But Annie's death is forcing me to take God's story more serious than I believe I ever have.
Rewind a bit.
It was just a handful of days after Annie was born that we went with some friends to hear Rob Bell on his Drops Like Stars Tour. We thought it was be "so good" for our friends. The theme he would be delving into was How does Suffering impact Creativity--how does God use Suffering/Loss for something remarkable? We thought it would be good for our friends who have a great boy that lives with cerebral palsy. (Just a little fact: he's my greatest fan on Sunday mornings because I play a guitar!)
I know it was good for our friends--they've told me so. But never did I envision how I'd be reflecting back on that evening. As the sculptor, God must now take the bar of soap which is my life and create something beautiful out of it. That's what sculptors do. In fact that's what story writers do--create where creation seems uncreate-able.
I know it was good for our friends--they've told me so. But never did I envision how I'd be reflecting back on that evening. As the sculptor, God must now take the bar of soap which is my life and create something beautiful out of it. That's what sculptors do. In fact that's what story writers do--create where creation seems uncreate-able.
(*pictures from Drops Likes Stars book)
I believe God is setting the stage for something remarkable through the setbacks of my life.
I believe the same for you.
If you are reading this and wondering if God is able to do this for you, check out a few incredible people from the Scriptures:
- Joseph (betrayal, slavery, power, imprisoned, power, choice to forgive)
- David (Goliath, Saul, adultery, forgiveness, Psalm writer)
- Daniel (exile, brilliance, pressure to worship another god, lion's den, miracle, prophecy & visions)
- Joshua (particularly the 10th chapter of Joshua)
- Legion (Mark 5)
- Jesus' disciples following his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection (went from fear to world changers)
- Paul (2 Corinthians 11:21-12:10)
Ephesians 6 exhorts, "Stand...and after you have done everything, to stand."
God is calling us to Stand. From that position the view will be remarkable.
4 comments:
Loved your words here, Mista Peta - they immediately brought to my mind this scripture from Psalm 27:
"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."
Thinking of you guys, all the time.
Out of the ashes He will bring good...May God grant healing.
We still weep with you and struggle to find meaning in all that has happened.
Holding you and Sarah daily in our prayers.
I love this honest and awesome expression of your grief and faith, Peter Jon.
I don't think I've ever been so sad for anyone. We pray for you morning and evening and often in between. The God you know and love CAN be trusted.
Peter, your commitment to the Lord and the willingness to share this journey with those around you, believers and nonbelievers alike, is going to change the course of their lives for God's kingdom. And yet, I know that sometimes it must not seem worth it. I just keep reminding myself of the video you shared Sunday. In an Australian accent, he said "If me being born without arms or legs brings just one soul to the Lord, then it is all worth it." As you trust Him, inspite of what has happened, you are leading others to trust Him as well. Our prayers for you continue.
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