Everyone likes a good story, and I think the best stories have a clear plot and a character we can relate to. For the story to connect, there also needs to be conflict and a resolution. Our hero or heroine vanquishes the enemy, and maybe there is even a surprise ending.
Sometimes filmmakers will do a test screening of their movie to get a reaction from an audience, and on more than one occasion, because of a negative reaction, they will rewrite the ending and reshoot it.
Each of us has a life and a story that is in play. The psalmist wrote, “We spend our years as a tale that is told” (Psalm 90:9 AMP). You may be at the beginning of your story, or you may be at the middle or end of it. But you are the featured character, the star of the film, if you will.
In the stories we all are living, there are unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes we wish we could reshoot the ending like Hollywood does, because we don’t like the way the story is going.
I think of Joseph in the book of Genesis and how he must have felt mid-story when he was in prison. His story started out well. It was a fantastic beginning. But his jealous brothers turned on him and sold him as a slave. And the next thing Joseph knew, he was in an Egyptian prison after being falsely accused of rape. At this point Joseph must have thought, This is not going well. God, are you paying attention?
Fast-forward to the end of the story. It turns out very well as Joseph was made the second-most powerful man in all of Egypt. Joseph had never read the book of Genesis. He didn’t know the end of the story.
Look at Job mid-story, when all of those calamities came upon him. He lost his animals, his workers and, worst of all, his own children. He may have thought, This is the end of my life. This is the end of my story. But Job didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes. He didn’t know how his story would end.
Here is what we need to remember about our own stories. There is an author, and it is God. There is a script that was written by the Lord himself. We also need to remember that if we are followers of Christ, then our stories will end well.
The Bible gives us two powerful, interwoven stories that feature two people who could not have been more different. One was a broken, discouraged woman with a serious health problem. The other was a powerful man named Jairus whose daughter had suddenly fallen ill. And both needed the same thing: They needed Jesus to help them. Tragedy levels social topography. When a hardship or sickness comes along, it doesn’t matter whether you’re wealthy or poor.
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In this story, the number 12 is an important one to remember. For 12 years, this woman had been in poor health. And for 12 years, Jairus’ daughter had lived on this earth. The little girl had 12 years of relative happiness, while the sick woman had experienced 12 years of pain, rejection and tears. And in the same afternoon, both of their lives were dramatically changed.
Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus, pleading for his help. Then, as they headed back to Jairus’ home, an interruption took place. As Jesus made His way through the crowd, he suddenly stopped and said, “Who touched My clothes?” (Mark 5:12 NKJV).
When the crowd parted, there stood the woman with her difficulties. But Jesus didn’t want to rebuke her; He wanted to commend her. This was amazing faith. The woman had spent all of her money on doctors, and she had nothing left. Her condition was getting worse. And because her condition of bleeding constantly made her ceremonially unclean, she was isolated. She didn’t have the comfort of friends in the synagogue, which was the spiritual and social center of the community. She knew that if she could only touch Jesus, she would be healed. And she was.
When time is of the essence, interruptions aren’t welcome. Jairus easily could have said to her, “Excuse me, but I am the ruler of the synagogue. You are not. No cuts.” He could have played his power card, but he didn’t do that. Instead, Jairus waited patiently on the Lord as he dealt with this woman.
But then someone came with a message for Jairus: “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (verse 35).
To hear the news that your child is dead is the worst thing a parent can ever hear. On two occasions I have been in the room with a father when the doctor told him his daughter had died. It was horrific. And when my wife and I heard the news that our son had died, there was no way to wrap our minds around that. It was as though our world had ended in that moment. It isn’t even possible to imagine what that is like unless it has happened to you.
I love what Jesus did next. He turned to Jairus and said, “Do not be afraid; only believe” (verse 36). Unbelief is the thief that often robs us of what God wants to do in our lives. After sending the mourners out of the room, Jesus turned his attention to the little girl who was lying there and said, “Little girl, get up!” (Mark 5:41 NLT). And he brought the little girl back to life.
Can you imagine the joy in the heart of her father, Jairus, to see his daughter alive again? Things started out badly for Jairus and became even worse. But what appeared to be the worst day of his life ended up being the best day. God can turn things around like that.
Your story is not finished yet. Maybe you are at the midway point. Like Job or Joseph in their stories, things are not making sense to you right now. But your story is still unfolding. It is still being told. And God always finishes what he begins.
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