Friday: Next Chapter

Isaiah 46:4 & 9-10, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save…remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” 

I love to read. Books have taken me on many thrilling adventures. I have solved countless mysteries, conquered over evil, laughed at well-worded wit, and applauded many happily ever afters. I’ve learned, explored, hoped, dreamed, and escaped through the pages of a book. Have you ever started a book series, come to the end, and been reluctant to read the last book because you know it is the end? Have you ever skipped to the end of the book and then had to go back and read the middle? Have you ever read a book and it was missing pages? (That’s the WORST!) Do you have a favorite book series you reread over and over again? 

My daughter Gwenn and I read books together and talk about them, share our favorite parts, and quote them in various conversations. Sometimes we sit side by side while she reads her book and I read mine. I treasure that time together. We’ve read some incredible biographies about missionaries like Jim Elliot and Amy Carmichael, and survivors like Corrie Ten Boom and Louis Zamperini. Each one of these heroes faced incredibly difficult, high-pressure, life-threatening circumstances and did not give up. The stories of their lives have been a witness to the unending goodness and faithfulness of God.   

Books are written with an order in mind. Most often, they are not intended to be read from back to front; you don’t skip around and pick and choose what chapters to read. Each part of the book, each chapter, contributes to the story as a whole. While some chapters focus more on the setting, and others on the plot, they all combine to create a visual and move the story forward. Each chapter matters. The chapters that contain trials and losses are just as important as the chapters that contain triumphs and victories. Psalm 37:23-24 insists, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.” 

It is normal to have favorite chapters, but don’t forget that it’s the book as a whole that makes it a story. When your past chapters try to creep up and steal the joy of the present, remember the goodness of God, His forgiveness, and your place at the table as a son or daughter of the King of Kings. Isaiah 43:18-19 encourages, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  When the enemy tries to bring up your past chapters and use them to steal your peace, remember God’s grace and let it go.   

In very simple terms, stories usually begin by introducing you to the main character and then presenting you with the challenge the character must figure out how to overcome, followed by a resolution, and if the author is feeling generous, an epilogue that shows the main character at some point in time in the future thriving. The best authors understand the importance of timing. They know when to draw out suspenseful moments and when to deliver a plot twist, and they know when it is time to wrap the story up. Throughout God’s Word, we see His impeccable timing as the Author of our lives. He is always exactly on time. We also see how God uses everyone, the young and old, weak and strong, the abled and disabled, the rich and the poor – He uses them all. You want to know something exciting? He is willing to use you too. The same God that Authored the life stories of Esther, David, Jonah, Elijah, Paul, and Timothy is also the Author of your life and has created you for such a time as this. Teenager, you are not too young to make a difference for eternity. Senior, you are not too old to make a difference for eternity. Psalm 37:25 imparts, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Let your life be a living testimony of the provision of God – Bread of Heaven! Only You can satisfy this hunger in my soul!

Are you just finishing a chapter of life? Currently in the middle of one? Are you starting a chapter and wish you were on to the next one already? Whichever chapter of life you are in, I hope you know that the current chapter should be your favorite chapter. I hope you don’t waste time living in the past or rushing towards the future, but rather live for today and for what God would have you do in this very moment. This life is fleeting; it goes by so fast. You have one life, but you will be given many opportunities to make a difference for eternity. I beg of you, don’t let those opportunities pass by while wishing you were in a different place and time. Your choices have consequences and influence others. Eternal consequences. Imagine if Esther had walked away from her Uncle Mordecai with a “not my problem” attitude. Imagine if Saul never became Paul. Imagine if Jesus had called for the angels instead of enduring the cross. How different history would be. How different our stories would be. 

There’s no mistake, no chapter in your life, too big for God to restore. He specializes in making beauty from the ashes. Sometimes I picture Him making beauty from the ashes by using those ashes as an ink source like an inkwell that He dips His pen in and writes the most prolific redemption story – My Story. He wants to write your story too. Psalm 102:18 proposes, “Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.” I pray that each of our lives are lived in a way that others who come after us may see the goodness of God in a very real and tangible way and that they desire that relationship with Him for their own lives. Your time is now.   

Read: Esther 4

Do: What does your story look like so far? Is it covered in forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love? What are you doing in your current chapter to help you prepare for the next chapter of life? How can you work to make this chapter the best one yet?

Pray: Thank God for the chapter of life you are in. Trust that He has created you for such a time as this and that He has a purpose and a plan for you to fulfill each and every day until He calls you home to Him.