A story is not a story without a plot and a plot is not a plot without conflict. Because of a central conflict, we cheer for the hero and boo the villain. A story’s conflict gives the plot its structure. The conflict that governs so many of our stories predates us by many, many years – one that played out on a balcony of heaven where Satan rebelled against God. This same conflict, in different manifestations, continues to play out in the lives of humanity. Our own personal plots play out as we encounter conflicts with nature and mortality. When illness strikes, this conflict often takes center stage. The difficulties we encounter in relationships with others elaborate on our personal conflict plots. Still, perhaps the darkest battles we fight are the ones located deep within us – as we find ourselves at war within ourselves. These are the conflicts that are hard to explain because they are so intensely personal. Our conflicts are what make up our stories. The basic structure of beginning, middle, and end are set up around the conflict that we hope will be resolved. The beauty of our stories is that God always has a plan for resolution and restoration. No matter how conflicts have defined us or continue to govern our stories, there is always hope when we stop trying to solve and explain every conflict on our own and invite Him into the process of writing our stories.
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If nature hates a vacuum, then no story exists without a setting to provide context. Entire genres of literature are formed around settings and how people react to them. Stories set in small towns might have quirky characters. Stories set in jungles might be adventurous. Stories set in urban locations might be edgy. Your story, then, has a setting – a backdrop against which everything plays out. As our Author writes, He calls us out of the setting where our story has unfolded, leading us into something new. In every great story, the protagonist leaves a familiar setting, perhaps a location, a relationship, or even a mindset. The greatest stories of our lives are painted on the backdrop of the unknown. It can be frightening to leave one setting for another – to answer the call of the wild, even when we are unhappy in our current setting – but it is only by doing so that we allow our story to unfold. Stories that play out forever in the same setting are stories that linger at the threshold between the dynamic and the stagnant. That threshold becomes a place of quicksand where untold stories collect and are held captive. If our stories are to unfold, we must have the confidence to walk into the setting that our Author has prepared for us, resting in the confidence that the pen never leaves His hand and He knows exactly what He is doing. A great story often has at least one of two things: a great plot or great characters. Your story has both. But it features you as its primary character. You, with all of your strengths and weaknesses, attributes and flaws, are the central character of your narrative. The fact that it is your story makes it special and different from every other story on the planet. You are an individual – completely unique – which means your story is completely unique. The Population Reference Bureau estimates that roughly 108 billion people have lived since God first created man in His own image. And the amazing thing about that is that there has never been anyone like you. No one has ever had your exact DNA structure. No one has ever had your exact personality. No one has ever had your exact experiences. The brilliant Dr. Seuss once wrote: “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” There never has been and never will be another you. Sometimes we can look at others’ lives and stories and wish we could trade. However, Your purpose is completely unique – only you can fulfill it. Your Author has tailor made your story for you. No other character can fill your role. You are the hero around which the plot revolves. What will you do with your story? After Hebrews 11, a series of stories of the heroes of faith, comes Hebrews 12. The second verse gives a beautiful description of Jesus. He is called “the author and finisher of our faith.” This tells us something vitally important about our stories: they not only have an author but they also have a finisher. An author often starts out with a basic plot in mind for his characters. He has a general idea of who they are and how their story will unfold. However, as pretty much any fictional author will tell you, characters seem to develop minds of their own throughout the writing process, taking the story in a direction the author did not intend. When this happens, some authors force their characters to abide by the original plan, resulting in a forced story. Other authors cannot figure out what to do with their characters and so they abandon the story altogether. And then there are the other authors – the authors who recognize that their characters have done something different with the plot but who are gifted enough to keep writing the story from where the characters are in the moment. They do not give up on the story or the characters. We have an Author like this. You see, He is not just an Author – He is also a finisher. No matter how your life has unfolded, He will not give up on your story. An author may start a story but a finisher sees it through until the end. How fortunate our stories are to have both. Human beings are wired for stories. We relive and express our memories through story. After death, we live on in the stories of our loved ones. We think in stories because they provide a context for facts. When you get the magical alchemy of the living writer sharing the story, there is potential for transformation. Lives can be changed by storytelling. There is a reason we hear fairy tales as children. They teach us values and morals. It is through story that we learn about our own identity. Neil Gaiman once said, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” The stories we listen to are the stories that write our lives. If we want to change our lives, it begins with changing the stories we listen to. Hebrews 11 presents us with the lives of some of the greatest heroes of faith who have ever lived. It is an anthology – a collection of stories. Alongside the expected stories (like Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and David), are the seemingly unheroic ones (like Rahab, Barak, and Gideon). Still, the great Author saw their value. And He has never set the pen aside. He continues to write our stories with the same dedication and care that He put into theirs. Join us in this series of articles as we explore the importance of our stories and of the One who continues to write them. Ephesians 6:16 highlights one of the most important pieces of weaponry a Christian should carry: ”Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” When we think of the way the shield was used in battle, one of the most beautiful demonstrations was a Roman tactic. When fighting as a group, a phalanx of soldiers could position their shields so as to form an enclosure around themselves, called a testudo (tortoise). This is what faith does – when our stories and lives are joined to those who have come before us, we are linked to a heritage that cannot be easily overcome. We are joined with people who currently are a part of the faith but also with every single person who has come before us. When one of us struggles or falls, the others come around that person in their defense. Sometimes we face situations we’ve never faced before. It’s in that moment that the enemy comes in like a flood and we don’t know what to do. But then a story comes to mind – we remember what Abraham or Moses did in that situation. In these moments, our faith is to be joined to the faith of others. When our one shield combines with others, we position our faith around the body of believers and we can help one another. When someone among us is weak, we can shield them momentarily until they are strong enough to stand again. Faith is our belief but it is also our identity. Of all of the things it could be to us, how beautiful it is that faith is our shield. Jim Robertson finally caught a glimpse of his son, Derek, as he positioned himself at the starting line. Despite eight surgeries worth of injuries, Derek had qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as one of the favorites and Jim was so proud. A shot rang out and Derek ran fiercely, with Jim cheering him on. Then it happened. Just after the 250 meter mark, Derek fell to the ground, pain across his face, and watched his chances at gold fade into a cloud of dust. Still, he was determined to finish. Watching the agony that flashed across his son’s face with every broken hop, Jim fought his way through the crowds. Others saw a defeated athlete but Jim saw a boy in need of his father. Making his way past security, he took his weeping son into his arms and whispered into his ear, “Look, you don’t need to do this. You can stop now, you haven’t got nothing to prove.” But Derek was determined and so Jim half-carried him for the remaining 100 meters, pushing away anyone who attempted to deter them. 65,000 onlookers rose to their feet in a standing ovation as father and son crossed the finish line. Few people can name the man who won the 400 meter race that year but countless people have been inspired by the father who defied an arena’s authorities to wrap his weeping child in his arms, sharing his strength with him, so they could cross the finish line together. It all started in a garden. God and humanity walked together in the cool of the evening in beautiful relationship. They spoke and enjoyed an unlikely fellowship – one in which the divine and human entwined. And then it happened. Sin entered the world and that sacred bond was severed. But God still reached for His creation, establishing covenants and abiding with them through fire, cloud, and an Ark. Prophets represented God to the people and priests represented the people to God. Still, the intimacy of Eden was lacking. But God had a plan both to cleanse sin and to restore the broken relationship. He promised that His Spirit being poured out upon everyone around the world. For years, humanity’s cry was met with the answer “not yet.” The wait ended on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven like fire upon the 120 who had obediently waited as Jesus had instructed. They spoke in languages they had never studied, proclaiming the praises of God to immigrants who had flooded the city for the Feast of Pentecost. With that moment a great revival began and the church turned the world upside down. More importantly, God and humanity could once again enjoy a personal relationship. Join us on Sunday, June 9, as we celebrate the day that promise was fulfilled – and continues to be fulfilled today. “Faith begins where Reason sinks exhausted.” (Albert Pike) To the untrained eye, it had to be the most unorthodox move in the armed history. The fact that a kid with no combat training had squared off against a giant even the king’s most would not challenge was one thing. But to do it without a shield? The battalion must have whispered to one another as he walked by. Hadn’t the king provided him with armor? But David won one of the most decisive victories in military history, all without the aid of a shield – to the untrained eye, at least. So why did David reject the armor of his king? Perhaps, being as covenant-minded as he was, he recalled God’s words to Abraham as Saul’s men adjusted the ill-fitting armor: “I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) Perhaps he realized that with God as a shield, Saul’s armor was not so necessary after all. Years later, David, now king, would find himself on the run from a son who had not only betrayed him but who had also amassed an army against him. Perhaps he thought back to that same moment with Goliath – the moment he had prepared for battle by laying aside his terrestrial shield, when he wrote in Psalm 3:3, “ Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” As we move through life, we tend to collect pieces of armor to keep us safe from all manner of pain and injuries, physical and personal. Even so, even our greatest armor cannot always keep us safe. Still, as we face our greatest battles, we can cast our eyes to the hills and exchange our earthly shields for a divine one that will never fail not only to defend us but also to lift us in our hour of greatest need. It must have been terrifying – possibly one of the most frightening moments of her life. She had been in a similar spot just before meeting the king. She had had no idea how he would feel about her and whether he would love her or shun her. But somehow this moment was worse. She was attempting to see His Majesty without having an invitation. Even though she was married to him, if his temper was fowl on that particular occasion it could cost her her life. And so Esther made her way to the throne room, heart pounding with each tentative step. Would he send her to her death? Her eyes were fixed on the golden scepter in his hand. If he raised it, she would be granted an audience. If not, it could mean her death. She prayed silently to the God who had seen her people through every trial through the years. She needed His help now more than ever – the fate of the entire Jewish nation hinged on this moment. And then the king saw her. He immediately raised the scepter and welcomed her into his presence. It was a pivotal moment. It signaled the beginning of salvation for God’s people. There is something intimidating about walking into the presence of royalty. Whether they are surrounded by armed guards or have a scepter that signals our life or death, monarchs are famously unapproachable. And yet the King of Kings makes Himself available to us at any moment. We do not have to wait for a scepter to be raised or for a special audience to be granted. In fact, our King pursues us. He leaves His throne to reach for us in our lowest and darkest moments. We have the incredible privilege to be able to walk into His presence whenever we need Him. What an awesome God we serve! |
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