The Silver Thread in the Storyline – November 2019
The holiday season is just upon us. A season of hustle and bustle, non-stop “on”… The time when the clock seems to tick faster than most of us prefer. The season where we try to organize more into our busy lives than is probably healthy. And while we might find reminders throughout the day encouraging us to remember what is most important, which one of us feels as though we have extra minutes to carve out of our busy schedules to practice mindfulness during this coming season?
And so today, friend… I invite you just for a moment to pause. Pause, not because we FEEL we have those extra minutes - but rather pausing to make a conscientious decision to stop and consider our lives. More importantly - our lives in light of the Cross… If we are going to rush about this holiday season with grand intentions of bringing cheer both far and near it would seem wise to consider how we are giving ourselves to the moments we’ve been allotted this side of eternity.
...and even as I write, I am acutely aware that there are some who do not have the hustle and bustle of a busy family life… For some the clock actually seems to tick slower throughout this season. And for others, having just one invitation for a visit somewhere this season would mean the world to them.
And so, to both the “busy ones” and the “unbusy ones”… May I invite you to come join this conversation as we stop to ponder afresh how we live. For WHOM do we live??
Recently, I carved out some time to pause and had the privilege of listening to a Godly scholar open Scripture and read a familiar passage aloud. I must have read this same passage a hundred times before but this time - in the pause - I found a silver thread of truth woven within the familiar words. A silver thread I have passed over time and time again.
Luke 24 - At the very end of His life and after the miracle of His resurrection, the book of Luke records Jesus walking along the road with two of His followers who were despondent that their Messiah had been crucified. Jesus rebukes them and says, “How foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And then we come to verse 27 “...and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.”
Our God took these men of feeble, broken, and beaten down faith and directed their hearts to travel all the way back to the very beginning of Scripture. And with endearing grace, explained to them that all the Scriptures ever written were really about HIM. Every verse. Every line. Every story. Every parable…
Every glory story ever recorded that we still read 2000+ years later… Every story of brokenness, fear, abandonment… Every story of victory, praise, and honor. The story of Abraham, Lot, Joseph and Daniel. The recordings of Esther, Ruth, Rahab, and Naomi. The life histories of Samson, Noah, Joshua, and Caleb. Mary, Martha, Deborah and Eve.
He gently explained to his dear feeble followers, these stories were never just about an ark, or a flood, a jawbone or a judge. They weren’t really just about David and giants or Ruth, the immigrant daughter. They were about Him…the glorious Messiah setting on display for the world that is only possible when God is the silver thread in the storyline.
The Scriptures aren’t just historical fairytales from years gone by… They are the DNA - the blueprint of our God, our Creator, on display for His beloved Creation.
And so I invite us to consider today, our story? Can we find the silver thread of truth woven deep into the fibers of our story? I wonder... when Samson fell between those pillars - do his blind eyes finally realize the glory of God upon him and did he finally understand - this is about Him!
I wonder if the prostitute Rahab,while fleeing for her life, discovered the thread of God’s favor and mercy even as her apartment fell beneath the walls of Jericho and suddenly knew - this is about Him.
Or the Moabite Ruth, as she finally bore a son in a foreign land and handed him over to her mother-in-law, Naomi… did they catch a glimpse of the miracle, the grandfather of Jesus, and knew - this is about Him.
Yes, we are in the storyline. We are His! But it is so much more than just our journey. Our story... In the dark days of loss, suffering, betrayal, and abandonment… He continues to weave His silver thread deeply into the darkest fabric of our DNA. In times of victory, celebration, praise, and joy, the thread shines bright - illuminating Him.
Dostoevsky once wrote, “The darker the night, the brighter the stars…"
Psalms 3 says, “You are a shield around me, O Lord. You bestow glory on me and lift my head.” As a daughter of God our Creator, He sets His glory upon us, that we may set on display… Him.”
And so today, dear friend… may we always consider Him.
In our grief, in our pain…
Our loneliness…
Our shame.
Times of celebration, victory
and praise…
In this season, may we allow our hearts to travel all the way back to the very beginning of Scripture. And with determined grace, may we always remember that all the Scriptures ever written and every story being written today is really for HIM.
May we live well - knowing He weaves with tenacious and patient hope - believing that because He started such a good work in us, He will see it to completion.
