A New Chapter

Pastor Osborne’s recent comments at our Pastor’s prayer meeting provided the inspiration for this evening’s thoughts:

When we are first learning to read, we stick to books like, “See Spot Run” – a simple story about Dick, Jane and Spot. “See spot. See spot run. Look, Jane, look.” You get the idea! There’s really no plot. With a book like this, you are not reading to learn – you are learning to read. There is no character development or theme. There’s no lesson. You’re just learning to read.

You advance to read stories like, “The Three Little Pigs.” It’s still a simple book. It has the same characters throughout. It’s not complicated or deep. But you begin to learn something from what you are reading. There’s a plot. There’s a message or moral to the story.

We graduate as adults to books that are broken down into chapters. The chapters are about different things and have different themes and lessons. Events will happen in some chapters, but never again in the rest of the book. You’ll meet characters in one chapter who disappear altogether in the next and may never reappear in rest of the story. Things in some chapters that are very important may no longer even play a role in later chapters. But we understand the author knows the beginning from the end and is weaving together a story. In the end the author will have worked all those chapters TOGETHER into a beautiful masterpiece.

Our lives are not like the book “See Spot Run” or “The Three Little Pigs.” Our lives are comprised of chapters. People move in and out of our lives. Circumstances and settings change. Some things that are very important to us now will not even be on our radar in a year. Some chapters are filled with adversity, hardship or grief. Others are about joy, progress or accomplishment. There are chapters that seem uneventful, even boring, while others bring new faces and new places.

As Christians we hold fast to the promise that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). We believe that God is the Author and Finisher of our faith and that He is blending the various chapters of our lives together into a beautiful masterpiece.

There are times when we don’t understand why things are happening. We’ve all asked God, “Why?” Why did this happen? What good can become of this? Many times life doesn’t make sense. If you were to read just one chapter of a novel, it probably would not make any sense at all. It’s only when you read the whole story that you realize every chapter played an important part of the whole. When we get to the end, we will look back and see that God used all the different chapters of our lives to create a beautiful story of grace and victory.

The important thing is to trust in God. Trust that He is in control and charge of our lives. We’ve put the pen in His hand. Now we must trust the Author. We must believe that He is working all things for our good and His glory.

The last year or so has been a difficult season, both for me personally and for our church. We’ve experienced death, loss, sickness and serious spiritual battles. It’s been a chapter about trusting God in the storm. The theme of this chapter has been about walking by faith and praising God even when you don’t understand.

At the turn of the New Year, I felt a change. In the last five weeks we’ve had INCREDIBLE services, huge crowds and guests and a great outpouring of God’s Spirit. I feel like God is turning the page and beginning to write a new chapter. I know every season has some spiritual battles and adversity, but I feel like this new chapter is going to be one filled with revival, growth and progress. I sense we’re entering a season of new faces, new places and new opportunities.

I believe 2013 will be a new chapter for you as well. God has turned the page. The pain and difficulty of the last chapter will not carry into this new season. Perhaps you feel the same anticipation. Whatever the New Year holds, I know He is the Author and is working all things together for good.

~Pastor Ball