There is Nothing New Under the Sun

One thing I've learned, particularly in this last year, is that there is nothing new under the sun. What I mean is, there's a rhythm, a continuous cycle to things. In Malachi 3 we read, "I the Lord do not change". He is constant. We can see how constant and rhythmic He really is by looking into the heavens. At first glance, everything appears at random. Yet, there is nothing random about it.

Stars are not spread out randomly in space, rather they are positioned in vast groups called galaxies. The Sun belongs to a galaxy called the Milky Way. There are an estimated 100,000 million stars in the Milky Way alone. Outside that, there are estimated millions upon millions of other galaxies. Think about the perfection of that design; the intricacies and details and organization of that system and the unchanging laws that govern it.

And here we are, God's most intricate design, the handiwork of His creation. We were created to know Him, to be in relationship with Him. And when our imperfection in sin created a mass divide between us and God, His perfect plan just continued to unfold, creating a way for us to come back into relationship with him. The plan of redemption was set in place at the moment of creation, not after. God wasn't looking for a Plan B. Everything was prepared from the start.

Funny then, how life can surprise us. I've recently begun to emerge from a most dark season of life; one that I wouldn't wish on anyone. While living through one of the most difficult and trying seasons of my life, I often felt hopeless. I felt discouraged and abandoned, defeated and punished. And most of all, I felt confused.

How did I get here? Why did I get here? What could I do to emerge?

I knew the Bible. I had read the stories and studied the men and women whose lives unfold in scripture, but there was an obvious disconnect. Those people weren't me. My situation was different, unique, complicated. I was treading in new territory. My situation required outside input, from friends, counselors, anybody. As much as I loved and studied the Bible, I was disconnected, at least during this dark season of my life.

Then I read a book, A Tale of Three Kings. For me, it was a moment of divine illumination. The scales fell off, the discouragement scurried away, my defeat turned to triumph. Why? I realized that there is nothing new under the sun.

As I read the book, which was based on the lives of Saul, David and Absolam, I felt like I was reading my own biography. I could see how things happened, why things happened and what it would take to get the results I so desperately wanted without any surprises.

I realized that I was living a story that had already been told. And it repeated throughout all of history, over and over and over again. I realized that there is nothing so unique or overly complicated that we can't plug ourselves directly into scripture and find the answers. I've always known that, but living it is a completely different thing.

We are all a part of a perfect and unchanging system created by God and governed by perfect and unchanging laws, both physical and spiritual, and the outcomes of life's most greatest and difficult challenges depend solely on our willingness to submit to His perfect and unchanging plan. When we do, there is freedom.

There is no use trying to fight our way through life. God's design and plan for us is perfect. Part of His plan requires us to be tried and tested, shamed and rejected. Part of His plan takes us through a grueling detour, through the lonely desert. But it's perfect nonetheless. And the moment we realize and accept God's perfect and unchanging design, the moment we can experience the freedom of life, even in the most difficult and trying seasons.

Our stories play out the same way the stories of the great men and women of the Old and New Testament play out. There is no need for life to completely catch us off guard. Sure, there will be surprises and times when we are blind sided by unexpected challenges, but what shouldn't be unexpected is the resolution of those challenges. Our stories have been told for thousands of years and are intricately recorded in scripture. If you are looking for answers, if you are looking for a way out of the grueling pit you've found yourself in, know this -

God's ways are not our ways; His thoughts are high above our human understanding. He is perfect and unchanging. He loves us. And...

there is nothing new under the sun.