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.

God Speaks Through Screen Savers

It was Monday night. I was sitting in a small apartment with 10 friends. We were talking about our up-and-coming move to Columbus. We've committed to each other to follow the call of God and plant a church there this year. We've seemed to have found a nice routine for our Monday nights. After having fasted the whole day, we meet together at six and share a meal to break the fast and celebrate God. We talk about our day, share exciting stories and spend a lot of time dreaming about what "could be" upon our move to C-town.

There's always a book we're reading as a group to help us develop as leaders and think outside the box, and every Monday night we spend a significant amount of time sharing what we learned. Then, we usually take a bit of time and talk about the pressing needs that each person has and pray for those needs. There are homes that need sold, jobs to be found, weddings to be had, money to be raised; it's quite overwhelming actually.

Then it hit me. Toward the end of an extended time of prayer, while listening to an itunes playlist I created full of The Glorious Unseen and Desperation Band's best worship choruses, my macbook's screensaver turned on. The song, "Overcome" by Desperation Band was playing and images of creation were slowing fading and zooming in and out. I gazed at the beautiful images and absorbed the words being sung.

"Seated above, enthroned in the Father's love. Destined to die, poured out for all mankind. God's only Son, perfect and spotless One. He never sinned but suffered as if He did. ALL authority, EVERY victory is Yours!"

I was taken back to the first night I had sung this particular song at Epic. I remember the power, the presence. I remember the hundreds of young people flooding the altar area, crying out to God for deliverance, to overcome their addictions. I remember feeling like I was in heaven, like God was right there, like we had somehow tapped into something divine.

Then I began to think about the road ahead. Columbus. A new Church. A vision to re-claim a lost generation. A City with 100,000 college students. One of the youngest cities in America. One of the best cities in America for singles. A Church that breaks the mold. A Church that ROCKS the city. A Church for God, the City & the World!

"Power in hand, speaking the Father's plan. You're sending us out, light in this broken land."

It amazed me, as I gazed at the pictures. God is so BIG. Where is Columbus in these pictures? Where is the earth when you zoom out and compare it to the rest of the universe? Even our great planet seems insignificant and small. How much more are our needs insignificant to God? The things we fear, the things that hold us back, the things that keep us from moving forward. What do they look like to God Who made all of this?

Yet, we are not insignificant to God. What we do is important. What God has called us to is great. Yet, our needs? The things we fear? If God can put all of this into place and make it work flawlessly, He can surely put us where He wants us and take care of all of our great, insignificant needs!

"Savior, worthy of honor and glory. Worthy of all of our praise, You overcame! Jesus, awesome in power forever. Awesome and great is Your name! You overcame!"

It's done. Fear of failure, fear of losing what you have, fear of the unknown; Jesus gave it all. All we have to do is trust and obey. Everything else will fall into place, just like the cosmos of creation.