Flip The Script (Part 1): When Things Aren't As You Expected
a StraNge script
Let’s face it, even the most cynical of us didn’t expect to be in this position today. Spring-time was supposed to be what it always is, a springboard in the right direction. Warmer weather rolls in, old junk gets thrown out, and new plans are made. Parties, weddings, vacations—there’s a million reasons to finally bust out of your nook. But now? There’s about 3 reasons why you can even leave your own house.
Quarantined life is the exact opposite of what you would have expected for the year 2020. I’ve never spent so much time at home, and yet, felt so out of place all at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, extra time with my wife & kids is great, the added downtime was certainly needed, but there’s still an awkwardness to it all.
Balance is such an important aspect in life, and trying to regain a sense of balance in this “new normal” is definitely a challenge. COVID-19 has undeniably added a weird wrinkle to our life’s script. Like punctuation that’s been put in the wrong place, things just don’t come out the same.
There’s a lot of “not supposed to be here” moments in life. But you know what, if God (who is all-powerful, ever-present, and all-knowing) allows them, then maybe there’s more to these moments than we realize. Maybe these times mold us in ways that we could have never experienced otherwise. And maybe, when you’re most tempted to believe “this isn’t where I’m supposed to be”, you’re actually—
Right where you need to be.
Take Jesus for instance. After being baptized, He receives God’s seal of approval in a really powerful display. As soon as He comes out of the water, God’s Spirit descends on Him & God Himself exclaims:
“You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.” Mark 1:9-11 (MSG)
Powered by the validation of His Father & the power of God’s Spirit, Jesus finds Himself anointed. Anointed as the Son of God and appointed to…the wilderness? In one of the most signature moments of Jesus’ life, God’s Spirit leads Jesus into the desert for a 40-day stay. 40 days of no food, the company of wild beasts, and the constant temptation of satan himself. If Anchorman were reading this script, you’d have to think there’d be a question-mark following God’s “You are my Son” line.
But that’s not the way the script played out for Jesus. Although tempted, Jesus never wavered nor sinned during this seemingly God-forsaken situation. Instead, He reaffirmed God’s call on His life and embodied the verse, “man does not feed on bread alone, but on every living word that comes from God.” Which begs the question, if God saw it fitting for Jesus to be led into the desert, what does that say about your own personal wilderness?
Could it be that you really are where you’re supposed to be? That this wilderness, that appears so barren, could be the very place that something powerful comes to life inside of you? That if you would stop trying to desperately hold onto what you expected, that God could finally deliver the unexpected. That finally, you could begin to—
Flip the script.
answers in the unknown
Just imagine for a second how exhausting & confusing Jesus’ time in the wilderness would have been. With everything that was thrown at Him, you’d have to think that this challenging time made Him feel like He was living in a “fog” of sorts. A cloud of confusion, which gave Him every reason possible to lose faith in His mission & faith in God. But in the midst of starvation and struggle, He taught us two critical truths that we need in our own seasons of struggle (two truths that we’ll look at in-depth over the next 2 posts):
#1: you can find clarity
On some level, we’ve experienced a starvation of our own during this time—a starvation of “normal”. Normal isn’t a bad thing in itself, but the truth is, normal often creates a lot of numbness. It can create a tolerance in us for things that shouldn’t have a place in our life, and it can dull our ability to sense the different directions God may be leading us. Jesus showed us that sometimes—
the greatest clarity is found in the cloud of confusion.
#2: you can take the tension
In many places all over the country, we’re experiencing a “phasing-in” process. This phasing-in is a great metaphor for the temporary nature of the season we’re in. Whether you’re living in the middle of this struggle, or even segueing into the “back to normal” portion, there’s a lot of tension that comes with it all.
Again, Jesus showed us that while these seasons of trial bring tension, they’re also temporary. He showed us that we’re built for moments like these, designed to take the tension that’s thrown our way. And because of the faithfulness of God, we can trust that—
He will use this in a powerful way.
is it in you?
Make no mistake, this fog we’re in is going to lift. The real question is, will you be ready when it does? Now is the time to be reminded that, where you are now pales in comparison to where you will be. To remember that your circumstances aren’t your source of assurance, God is.
Jesus Himself could not have withstood the wilderness if He had to endure it alone. God was for Him, God was with Him, and God was in Him. No matter what you’re going through, you are not alone. God is for you. He is with you. And when you accept Jesus as your Lord & Savior, God’s Spirit is in you. And greater is He that is in you, than—
anything that’s against you.
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today’s Takeaways
the greatest clarity is found in the cloud of confusion.
when things aren’t as you expected, It’s time to flip the script.
greater is Christ in you > than anything that comes against you.