Included in a Bigger Story
Embedded in the story of redemption is a principle we must not miss: God uses ordinary, messy people to accomplish his extraordinary, divine mission on earth.
It’s beautiful and amazing—but it is messy. What mission board, ministry, or local church would use the people God used in Scripture? To name just a few:
- Moses (an exiled murderer)
- Gideon (fearful and hiding)
- David (the shepherd boy with no military training)
- Peter (who publicly denied Christ)
- Paul (persecutor of the church)
Along with these are untold numbers of little people God used in big ways to fulfill his plan on earth.
You are included and enlisted in that wonderful plan today! But for much of our day, we are too easily captivated by our self-centered little schedules, chasing after a life consumed by personal happiness and achievement.
Your life is much bigger than a good job, a happy marriage, and non-delinquent kids. It is more significant than beautiful gardens, nice vacations, and fashionable clothes.
All of these things can and should be pursued and enjoyed to the glory of God! But they should never replace or take priority over the grand redemptive narrative that you are a part of: God is rescuing fallen humanity, transporting them into his Kingdom, and progressively shaping them into his likeness.
And he wants you to be a part of it.
The good news of the Kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss. It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself. His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities.
As he changes us, he allows us to be part of what he is doing in the lives of others. As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in his hands.
Your life is bigger than you ever imagined. You live in one moment in time, yet you stand hand-in-hand with Enoch, Noah, Joseph, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Matthew, Peter, Paul, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and generations of unknown believers who understood their place in the kingdom and did their part in its work.
Only as you keep this in view will you be able to minister and disciple effectively in the situations, locations, and relationships where God has placed you.
As human beings, we cannot walk through life on our own. We need rescue, healing, and forgiveness. In short, we need God. We need the good news, the news of the King who has come, making lasting change possible.
This alone is our personal hope and the basis of our personal ministry to others.
There is a story
so grand
so glorious
so beautiful
so wonderful
it overshadows
every story
that has ever been
conceived and written.
Generations have been
awakened
enthralled
rescued
encouraged
redeemed
by this narrative.
It is the story of stories.
It begins before this world
was set in place.
it has no final chapter
it reaches into eternity
it reaches down to earth
it touches the heart
it restores and transforms
what sin has broken.
Without the central character
of this story
there would be no hope
no eternal life
no grace
no daily mercies
no divine love
to touch lost and broken ones
to rescue rebels
to reclaim fools
to draw idolaters
to worship the King.
The hero of this story
is God in the flesh
a suffering king
a sacrificial lamb
a sacrificial substitute
a promised messiah
a giver who is the gift
a victorious conqueror
a reigning redeemer
your dearest friend.
By grace his story
is your story
his father
is your father
his family
is your family
his victory
is your victory
his destiny
is your destiny
so darkness
can’t defeat you
sin can’t
destroy you
and heaven’s
open gates
await you.
A Prayer for Today: God, please help me to see that my personal story is part of a much larger story that you are crafting and shaping into a beautiful grand narrative—the ultimate narrative. Thank you for inviting me in and including me in your grand story. Would you help me to keep your story front and center as I go about my life, and would you use me in any way you wish to bring glory to your name? In the name of my great Savior, Jesus…amen.
God bless,
Paul David Tripp
Discussion Prompt for Children
Why do you think God wants to involve you and me in the work he’s doing here in the world today? Why do you think he’d want us to be a part of his story?
Reflection Questions
1. Why do you think it’s so important for us to recognize that we are included as a part of God’s bigger story? Do you ever feel inadequate or incapable when you hear that God wants to use you in his grand story? Why or why not?
2. What are the things you are too easily captivated by in your life that replace the awe you could have of God’s bigger story? Have personal happiness and achievement been your primary goals in life? If so, how does God call you into something greater than just a good job, a happy marriage, and non-delinquent kids? How is his call on your life more significant than those good things just mentioned?
3. As God works in your life and changes you more and more into the image of his Son, where might he be calling you to be a part of what he’s doing in the lives of other people? In what ways are you submitting to how he wants to use you as his instrument? More specifically, where is God calling you to minister and disciple effectively in the situations, locations, and relationships where he has placed you?