“For I am confident of this very
thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of
Christ Jesus.”
– Philippians
1:6
A funny thing happened when I began
a study of those we consider most famous in the Bible. I learned
that nearly all of them had amazing comeback stories, where God brought them back from humanly
insurmountable circumstances. Each had moments when they thought
“God’s done with me.”
In their lives, I saw dead-ends, disastrous
mistakes, regrettable actions, deeply offensive sin, and intense personal
opposition.
Their
stories however, despite the hopeless situations they faced, have
encouraging and surprising conclusions. Their final testimony
was, “God’s not done with me.”
This caught my attention because I’ve seen
discouraging seasons in life myself. I’ve been in places where I wondered if
God knew what He was doing, because I certainly couldn’t see anything good.
I’ve also walked with people who’ve wondered, “Where are you, God? How will
you meet me in this mess?”
I’m completely convinced that you can have a
comeback story much like these recorded in Scripture, no matter what
impossible circumstances you face. The same God who intervened in their lives
can do the same for yours. I know this from their experience, but I also know
this from my own experience. God records their stories specifically so you can
experience Him in this way, as well.
Moses, one
of the most prolific and passionate characters in the Bible,
erupted in an outburst of anger over the injustices committed against his
people and killed an oppressor. He fled Pharoah and spent the next 40 years
of his life on the backside of the desert in obscurity. He existed in that
strange land until God called to him from a burning bush and sent him on a
mission to deliver Israel. God was not done with him, but Moses didn’t know
that for decades.
It’s only when God brings Moses to a place
where he can be alone with God that Moses listens to God, and tells the Lord,
“I am ready.” The last 40 years of Moses’ life is one of the greatest
comeback stories in history. We know it as “the Exodus.”
Everyone knows the story of Joseph and the
coat of many colors. The boy with the famous coat was loved by his father but
hated by nearly everyone else. His life is a case study of a dysfunctional
family. With 10 extremely jealous stepbrothers plotting against him, Joseph
is rejected by his family, sold into slavery, falsely accused in Potiphar’s
house, then abandoned in prison for two years. Even his friends in prison
forget about him. It would be tempting for anyone in his place to conclude
“God is done with me.”
But “the Lord was with Joseph.” (Genesis
39:2) That phrase pierces through years of rejection and mistreatment to
explain how God used the hardships of his life to prepare him for leadership
in Egypt. God elevated Joseph to rescue the entire nation of Israel, along
with his family.
Joseph’s famous words encourage us today.
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) These
are ultimate comeback words that are forged in the fire of rejection and
remind us that God is never done with us…
Abigail’s story may be my favorite. Told in
one solitary chapter of the Bible (1 Samuel 25) it is filled with suspense,
action, and love.
Here is a woman who was caught between two
angry men. Her wicked and abusive husband, Nabal, offends a young and
anointed king-to-be, David. As David and his men rush toward Nabal’s
household in anger, her servant informs her of the impending attack, saying,
“Now then, be aware and consider what you should do.” (1 Samuel
25:17)
Abigail realizes that she must intervene. God
gives her the wisdom, grace, and restraint necessary to defuse the tension
and bring peace. As she does, God gives her protection, freedom, and later, a
surprise gift of love.
God can also rescue us from a deep darkness
of the soul.
Remember Elijah, the great prophet of God who
went from supernatural victory on Mt. Carmel to a dark valley of
discouragement and depression in a matter of hours? Elijah was so tired,
discouraged, and empty that he said to God, “It is enough…take my life.” This
is what some call the dark night of the soul.
God turns this entire dark season of Elijah’s
life to light with an encounter on a mountain where He asks Elijah a piercing
question and gives him the next step needed to get out of the valley and
finish well.
One wonders, “How does God do these things?”
And then we remember, He’s God.
Moses was angry. Joseph was rejected. Abigail
was desperate. Elijah was discouraged. Each could reasonably think, “God’s
done with me.” Each would have been wrong.
Jesus, of course, has the greatest comeback
story of all time. What God knew all along, the world was left to wonder. All
evidence shows that those who were closest to Jesus could not understand why
God would allow Jesus to undergo such a horrific death. It didn’t make sense
to them at the time. Most of them fled in fear.
Three days later, the world awoke to a
resurrected Jesus, and suddenly everything made sense. The world celebrates
this on Easter, but of course, every day is a resurrection day for Jesus’
followers. He’s still alive and engineers comeback stories among us all the
time.
“God’s not done with you” should be a
perspective of life. If you’re still here, God’s not done with you. It’s not
unlike God for the latter chapters of your life to be much, much greater than
the earlier ones.
Let Him complete what He has
begun.
About Pastor
John
John Meador,
author of God’s Not Done With You, has served as a lead pastor for 40 years,
most recently at Cross City Church in Euless since 2006. The church, with
6,000 active attenders, is intergenerational and multi-ethnic, with
ministries from birth to beyond retirement. He and His wife, Kim, have been married
for 44 years and are the grateful parents of six grown
children.
More at
JohnMeador.com.
