The End of the Story

A few years ago, I bought my daughter a Disney fairytale CD with the story of Snow White.  You all know the story of Snow White.  She’s described as the fairest in all the land but the evil queen wants to be known as the fairest, so she concocts a plot to kill Snow White.  Fortunately, she doesn’t succeed & Snow White goes to live in the forest with the seven dwarves.  While there, the queen disguises herself as an old woman and brings her an apple.  Snow White takes a bite of the apple and falls into a deep sleep until Prince Charming awakens her with true love’s first kiss. 

The CD gets very sinister when the old lady old lady arrives on the scene.  The music drops low and slows down.  The woman’s voice is very evil and conniving.  You get this foreboding sense that something bad is about to happen.  And every single time that part came on, my daughter would cover her ears, close her eyes and beg me to fast forward past the “scary part”. 

It got so bad that I asked her one day, “Why do you want me to fast forward this part?”

“It’s scary,” she said, “and I’m afraid of the evil queen.” 

“What happens after the evil queen comes,” I asked her.

“After the evil queen comes and gives her the apple,” she recounted, “she falls asleep.  Then, “she continued, “Prince Charming comes and kisses her.  She wakes up and they live happily ever after.”

“Does that ever change?” I asked her.  “No Momma,” she replied quietly.

“So why are you afraid?  You already know the end of the story.  You already know what’s going to happen.  You already know that, in the end, Snow White wins.” 

God showed me that oftentimes, we as adults are like my daughter.  There is something that scares us.  There’s a foreboding sense around us.  We sense evil and we get afraid.  But listen, we know the end of the story.  All throughout the Bible, God tells us that we win!  He will defeat evil.  We know that the enemy who rules this world prowls back and forth – we know his end is coming.  And we know that he will be defeated. And we know that God has given us his true love that rescues us from that evil. 

It’s funny.  Now, when we listen to the CD, my daughter’s first instinct is to fast forward to the part with the evil queen. 

And I reassure her – I say, think about the end of the story – it will help you get through that fear. 

I think this is a lesson that we can learn too.  When you’re going through storms and temptations – think about the end of the story.  Think about the victory that Jesus has already secured for us on the cross.  And I’m going to tell you something else – we have an advantage over Snow White.  Snow White had to go through that alone but we are never alone. 

We have our victor who travels with us throughout our story and that is what gives us hope. 

Five Stones

I’m sure most of you remember that story of David & Goliath in the Bible.  If you don’t, let me refresh your memory.  David is a simple farm boy.  He is going down to the battlefield to take lunch to his brothers.  They’re fighting the Palestinians and they have brought out their secret weapon – the giant named Goliath.  Everyone is afraid of Goliath and he is taunting the Israelites.  David arrives at the battlefield and sees what’s going on.  “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?” he proclaims.  David has no fear.  He volunteers himself to go into battle against Goliath.  His brothers and the other men try to make him wear a piece of armor.  I can see it in my mind:  David, still a young boy, ambling around in a grown man’s armor.  I can see the helmet flapping over his eyes and his boots are too big so he stumbles and falls over.  When you think about it, it could have been a funny sight.  However, if he would have put that armor on and went before Goliath he would have been defeated. Why? 

It didn’t fit him. 

It wasn’t his.  It also was not what he was used to.  It would have been all wrong.  So instead, David used what he was used to.  He had 5 smooth stones in his pocket and that’s all he needed to kill Goliath. 

Often times we look at other people and we look at their gifts and we say, “Wow, I would love to have that gift”.  I would love to sing like that...Preach like that…Give like that.  Why can’t I speak like that?  Play like that?  I just wish I had what they had. 

But it doesn’t fit you and it’s not effective in your hands. 

Sure, someone else wearing that armor, wearing that sword would have had success, but that wasn’t David’s gifting.  He had 5 smooth stones.  You see, David had experience with those stones.  He’d killed lions & bears in the wilderness using those very same stones.  He had success before.  Because that’s what his gift was. 

Like David, you have in your hand 5 smooth stones that the Lord has given you to go into battle: your own unique gifts and talents. 

What are your 5 stones?  Are you using them to the best of your ability?  Let’s stop envying each other’s gifts.  Let’s stop emulating other people’s talents.  Instead, let’s be comfortable using the gifts we’ve been given. 

Let's Be Real...Rejection is a Natural Part of Life

I know what it feels like to be unwanted.  Rejected.

I’ve been rejected more than I like to admit.  Rejected by men.  Friends.  Hiring managers.  Let’s be real - rejection is a natural part of life.  But it still hurts.  It sucks. And sometimes, it can be hard to get past.  If you’ve dealt with rejection over and over again, it can become a part of you.  It lingers in the back of your mind, reminding you why you’re not good enough.  Reminding you of the times you didn’t hit the mark.

And if you’re not careful, rejection can grow into fear - paralyzing fear that prevents you from moving forward.

There are people working the same job after 20 years because they have been denied promotions for so long, they’ve given up trying.  There are people who have resigned themselves to singleness – given up on love because they are afraid of being rejected once again.  Fear of rejection can become a jail cell – imprisoning you to a lifetime of mediocrity and settling.

When it comes to living a fulfilled life in Christ, it is important to recognize that rejection is one of the tools that Satan uses against us.  John 10:10a tells us that the thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy.  Think about it for a minute.  Think of how rejection steals your hopes.  Think of those times when rejection killed your self confidence.  Remember – rejection aims to destroy your purpose.

When dealing with rejection, it can be easy to focus on the ones who don’t love us, don’t want us, and don’t treat us right.  Unfortunately, that leads us to neglect the One who does love us, who does want us, who does treat us right. Don’t let rejection push you away from God, let it push you towards Him. There is hope in the second part of John 10:10 – “But I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

The battle we fight is not a physical one – it’s spiritual.  Refuse to let Satan use rejection against you.  Instead, look to Jesus who can restore your hope, remind you of why you’re valuable, and empower you to fulfill your purpose.