Part of the Story

The last couple of nights our girls have been asking for us to read the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis.  At the close of one chapter they beg for us to read more so they might hear again the next twist or turn of events which are around every corner of Joseph's life. My children remind me how God uses story to capture our hearts,  to call us to himself, and to give us a bigger picture of our own lives.

I listened to a sermon this morning while folding our endless mountain of laundry which seems to build faster than the ice on lake Michigan.  In an introduction to the book of Genesis, Rankin Wilbourne speaks about the life of Jacob.

He says this,

"When God tells Jacob 'I will go down with you into Egypt and I will bring you back up'... Jacob could not know what path, what arduous back breaking, heart breaking path to God’s promise being fulfilled that would be before him...

The Lord only gives the promise “I am God, I will be with you, and I will bring you up again.” 

We never get the whole story. If God were to tell us all that our future holds, all the lacerating twists, all of the surprises, we’d be so paralyzed that we couldn’t get out of bed.  Instead God just gives us the same promise, 'This is headed somewhere.  This story is going somewhere, and one day it will all make sense, but until then remember, “I am God.” Do not be afraid. I will be with you.'

Your story is part of THE story which will one day redefine your own, and grace will no longer be a word or experience but a way of seeing what is unseen until you see yourself and the world differently, because the Lord has been your shepherd all the days through."

(Listen to the whole sermon here http://pacificcrossroads.org/teaching-series/genesis-a-baptized-imagination/)