Restore Fall Study Lesson 5: How Redemption Redefines Our Stories
You shouldn’t stop in the middle of a story.
Would you ever turn off a movie right in the middle? If you did, then you stop when the team loses, when the bad guy wins. If you turn off Lion King in the middle, then Simba is stuck trying to sing his hurt away, and Scar remains king of pride rock. If you stop Avengers in the middle, Thanos wins, and half the universe is gone. We all know better than to stop a story in the middle.
But sometimes we do that with ours.
We see our struggles, our hurts, the circumstances in our life that seem to stay the same, and we decide this is the end of the story. We think it’s all too much—there’s no story beyond this. But we’re stopping too early.
Our hurt and sin doesn’t have the last word. They’re not the end.
The Rest of the Story
God knew his people could not save themselves. So, the Father sent his Son into the darkness of the fallen world to reconcile the division in our relationship with God, and to restore the distortion in our souls, both caused by the sin in us and around us. Our hurt is only part of the story—Jesus is the rest of it.
Jesus became fully human, with a body and soul like ours. He fully experienced the impact of the fall while on earth, and his life was filled with humiliation and suffering. Do you feel hurt by your family? Jesus’ own brothers thought he was crazy, and refused to believe in Him. Have you been treated unjustly? False witnesses hurled accusations at Jesus, and the very authorities of justice looked for ways to condemn this innocent man. Are you struggling with physical pain? Jesus spent hours in a tortured agony, raw and bloodied back hanging against rough wood, pushing up against the nails to catch a ragged breath, as His muscles became too weak to push him up again. He took on our sins, absorbed God’s wrath, and was forsaken by the Father. All this he did, out of love.
All that Jesus suffered on the cross should convince us that he is the perfect high priest, the one who can fully identify with all the injustice, heartache, affliction, sorrow, and trauma we might ever experience in this evil world. Jesus understands your hurts—but he can also declare that they are not the end of your story. Jesus not only understands our burden and brokenness, but he is also the only one able to bear our burdens and bind up our brokenness.
Jesus came not only to redeem us, but to restore us.
This doesn’t mean we as his children will not struggle with sin, and no longer feel hurt. Jesus, Paul, and Peter all declare that the opposite is true. But our struggles are now an opportunity to learn from Jesus. It draws us to rely on him, and to learn obedience and faith, even when things are hard. Hardships can draw God’s children closer to him.
Trusting in His Salvation
But sometimes, we question whether we are truly God’s children. When life gets hard, or a chronic sin struggle won’t go away, or it seems like our circumstances will never change, we wonder if God is really working in us. We begin to question our salvation. We ask, “Is God really with me?”
We’re afraid of losing our salvation—but don’t forget that while YOU may not be confident in your salvation, God is confident in HIS salvation of YOU.
“We’re afraid of losing our salvation—but don’t forget that while YOU may not be confident in your salvation, God is confident in HIS salvation of YOU. ”
Did God die on the cross to make an investment on some good return you’ll bring? And now that the return is slowing down, he’ll question his decision? If God saw your sins that were all still-future 2,000 years ago, and died for you then; will he be surprised by the sins of right now? Will God go back and history and un-shed His blood on the cross for you, because of your slow growth? Are your unchanging circumstances throwing God off-track?
No. God promised from the beginning of time to bring salvation. 2,000 years ago on a Roman cross, he did. Your struggles now aren’t going to change that. What God says, He will do.
Our struggles are not signs that we are not his, or that he has abandoned us. Rather, our struggles are an opportunity to draw close to him again. God’s presence, promises, and power are not dependent on who you are, what you do, what you haven’t done, or what was done to you. God freely and intentionally carries out his redemptive work in you based on who he is, what Christ has done, and what God’s Spirit will do.
We don’t want to stop a story in the middle—especially ours. Our hurts do not define us, for Jesus has come to restore us again. Jesus invites you to come to him so he can give you rest.
Let’s let his presence, promises, and power be the true ending to our stories.
Lord, thank you that you drew near. You chose to step into our hurt and brokenness, and experience it yourself, so you could be our healing. You are our healing, our peace, our restoration. When our struggles threaten to overwhelm us, and the enemy whispers that you have abandoned us, remind us that you are still near. You are still faithful. You still love us. Let us live out your story this week, walking with your people in your word and your love. Amen
