Great Stories

I love a good adventure story. Every great adventure story includes romance, conflict, mishaps, tragedy, suspense, comic relief, as well as moments of success and triump. As you read the scenes described so clearly, so vividly, you’re drawn into new places, sights, sounds. I have read scenes that made me hungry, scenes that gave me a desire to snuggle up with a pillow and blanket, cup of tea/coffee and something sweet as I continued reading. You feel at times as though you’d love to be there, if you could somehow climb into the story and experience it in reality.

I remember a difficult time in my life when the Lord kept telling me that this “place” I was in was not my destiny, but only a part of my journey. He’s taught me that such places serve to drive my roots deeper into who He is and who He wants to be to me. (“Roots” because I’m a “…tree of (His) righteousness, a planting of the Lord, that HE might be glorified”.) I’ve experienced great romantic times with the Lord, and times when I misunderstood Him, and kept Him at arm’s length.

Over the last several years, I have often thought about God being the author and finisher of our faith. Thinking about how He is the author of the story of my life. J If everything went the way I wanted it to go, the story of my life would be boring. Truly a real yawn. I cannot abide a boring story. Also, I think it would be truly tragic, if I were to be the author of my own story. My ideas are never as brilliant as His. What I consider to be a “good” idea doesn’t compare to HIS goodness.

I think about when Martha told Jesus that if He had come sooner her brother, Lazarus, would not be dead. John 11:21 Mary said the same thing in verse 32. Jesus dearly loved this man and his sisters. I think they must’ve been like family to him. Sure He could have come and healed Lazarus & kept him from dying. But the Father had a better story in mind… raising him from the dead. How amazing, fantastic, and spectacular! I have been down inside the tomb they say Lazarus was laid in. It would have been a miracle for the man to come up out of that deep, tight space, and up the steep narrow passageway wrapped in cloth as he would have been. Verse 44 says that he even had cloth over his face! What a great story!

Papa knew that they needed to see how real, how mighty He is and wanted to be in their lives. To know that not even death could stop Him from blessing them and doing what He desired to do in their lives. He wanted to give them a greater revelation of Himself, to bring them into greater freedom in their journey with Him. To bring them to a place of such confidence in who He is that they would not hold back in following after Him wherever He might lead them.

No matter where we are today, it is not where we’ve “ended up”, nor is it where we’ve “arrived”. It’s only part of our story, our journey. He has written, and is writing the most exciting, encouraging and beautiful stories in and through our lives. Each one pointing us to Him, drawing our attention to Him, His beauty, His love and goodness. I hope to keep this in mind as I look at my life, and upon the lives of those around me. I hope to remember that God’s working in each of our lives, with us in the muck & mire, pushing us up to the top of that “mesa”, to help us become that “city set upon a hill” that He has seen in His dreams.

Lord, help me to trust in Your author-ity in my life. Lead me further up & further into the freedom found only in resting in Your love and goodness. I love everything You do. You are so creative, so brilliant! Write on, Lord! Write my “story” just the way You want to.

~marcy ellis~
May 17, 2009