God’s Story Covers Our Past, Present, and Future in Hope
“Jemma” - Linwood Berry
When it comes to our past, present, and future, the future is the one we cannot see: it requires imagination. The future is the one that begs for hope, the kind of hope that is more than wishful thinking, but an expectation that everything will be okay.
We hold power over the future (or feel like we do). We are told we can be anything we want to be. It can be exciting to think of all the possibilities, but it can also be a heavy weight.
At StoryMakers, we understand the pressure we humans can feel, especially our kids and teens, who are regularly asked what they want to do and be when they get older. It is easy to start believing that the future is all up to us. Our recent Teen Zine vol. 5: Future Self issue addresses this when it says:
“From the time you were born till the present moment, God is shaping you. You are grafted into God’s story. Sometimes we get it twisted and think, ‘I am shaping myself into who God wants me to be.’ But the reality is more like the time you lived through as a very young child, which you only know through grown-ups’ stories. Just because you don’t remember it doesn’t mean the past did not shape you. In the same way, you may not have met Jesus in person two thousand years ago, or lived in the time of King David, yet those stories have shaped you, too. Humans are forgetful, and we need stories to remember WHO our future self is in” (p. 76).
This section of the teen zine reminds us that our future is rooted in the past. This is why StoryMakers is dedicated to tucking God’s word into the hearts of kids and teens through stories from the past. But what is so important about a story? How in the world do stories from thousands of years ago shape us? We weren’t even alive yet!
Let’s look at one example to find out…
King David, who was mentioned in the above quote, wasn’t always a king. He was the youngest of eight boys, and his job was to tend the sheep. When his older brothers were off at battle, his father sent him to bring them food and check on them. David was basically told to make himself useful while his brothers did the “important” work. Sound familiar to any of you younger siblings out there?
David arrives at the battlefield to find his bigger and braver siblings (along with the rest of the Israelites) hiding from a Philistine giant named Goliath, who had challenged them to a fight. While David asks more about this, his oldest brother becomes angry and accuses him of conceit and a wicked heart. David responds, “Now what have I done? Can’t I even speak?” (1 Sam 17:29). Even though this story happened thousands of years ago, siblings still use similar words today!
When he hears what is happening, David is appalled that Goliath has “defied the armies of the living God” (1 Sam 17:36), and he tells Saul that he is willing to face this giant. David is too small and weak to even wear armor, and yet he confronts this 9-foot-tall giant in “the name of the LORD Almighty” (1 Sam 17:45). In this moment, David boldly proclaims that once he defeats Goliath, “the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Sam 17:46). David goes on to defeat the giant with only a slingshot and a few stones.
When we hear a story like David’s, we connect with characters and imagine how we would feel if we were in their shoes. Stories create empathy for ourselves and for others. We also learn to hope for the unexpected. No one would expect a young boy to defeat a giant, but in God’s story, we see time and time again how he uses the weak, the broken, and the rejected to show his own power.
All stories shape us, but the best stories are the ones where defeat looks imminent… and victory is just around the corner.
David’s story points to another king who would also be seen as weak, and his defeat also looked imminent. From the cross, Jesus appeared to be done for… But we learn on Easter that he did not stay dead! When Jesus rose from the dead, God brought victory and hope to the entire world. On top of all that, our wonderful Savior promises to return and make all things new.
Stories have the power to teach us and shape us. But God’s story goes beyond just something wecan relate with—God’s story is attached to eternal promises for us all. We do not have to imagine ourselves in someone else’s shoes because God has invited us in, too! We have a special place in his story, and this truth covers our past, present, and future in hope. We may feel weak at times. We may look around and see only brokenness. But no matter how bleak the future or the world around us looks, we remember that in God’s story, victory is always just around the corner.
Juliette Alvey at StoryMakers
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Linwood Berry
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