Trust the Author
Photo by Steven Houston on Unsplash
Sometimes when I’m reading a suspenseful story to my kids and we get to a super intense part of the plot, they freak out. I’m talking eyes shut, ears plugged, fetal position—the whole nine yards. In those moments, I pause to remind them that this is an author they love and encourage them to respond with trust.
We have recently read a lot of fantasy written by people who understand light, darkness, and redemption. They carefully craft each scene to serve the purpose of the story. Through the suspenseful parts, the author has a goal in mind. Perhaps the darkness in one chapter prepares the way for light in the next. Sometimes the conflict is intended to create an ache in the reader so the resolution will be richly satisfying. Always, the difficult parts serve a purpose.
Between a global pandemic, polarizing politics, natural disasters, societal upheaval, and all the other things 2020 has brought us, I find myself taking on the posture of my sons, figuratively plugging my ears and wishing all the dark parts away. As I write this, the 2020 election is underway. I’m watching as the states turn red and blue, wondering how the decisions made tonight will affect my community, people of color, the unborn, family-run small businesses, immigrants, and those at risk of COVID-19 complications. As these thoughts swirl in my mind, He whispers to me, “Stacie, trust the Author.”
If my kids can trust J.R. Tolkien when the Hobbits are lost in Mordor, if they can trust Andrew Peterson when Janner is trapped in the Fork Factory, and if they can trust C.S. Lewis when Aslan surrenders himself to the White Witch, then I can certainly trust God today.
We’re Not the First
Friends, let’s not buy the lie that things are bleaker than they’ve ever been. Since the Fall, the people of God have clung to Him and His promises when they have found themselves in the dark. Noah rocked in his ark as everything and everyone he knew, except family, sunk into the water beneath him. Sarah lay awake in her tent, with her empty womb and heavy heart—or worse, in Pharaoh’s harem! David was homeless and in hiding, hunted by a crazed King Saul. They were regular people who, in the midst of their own seasons of uncertainty and darkness, clung to the hope of God’s promises. And none of them were disappointed. (Note: You can read about those stories here, here, and here. If you want more examples, spend some time reading the stories behind the people of Hebrews 11.) In every single case, God was folding the stories of individuals into His overarching story of redemption. He is doing the same with us today. We can trust the Author.
Perhaps, like my eldest, you like to peek at the end of the book to make sure the ending will make the suspenseful parts worth it. In His mercy, God gave us just such a peek. In John’s vision of Revelation, we find that Jesus comes storming back to Earth on His white horse to put an end to every injustice, to right every wrong, to smooth away every sadness. See for yourself:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars — their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” —Revelation 21:1-8 (CSB)
(Note: that list at the end there refers to the repeated, unrepentant sin of those who reject Jesus.)
No matter what the coming days bring, we can face them with calm hearts because we know the Author and the ending. He has woven our stories into His redemptive plan. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and then focus on loving our God and loving our neighbors.
