This is Not the End of Your Story

Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show, and the plot thickens and begins to unfold, and then the show ends, leaving you on the edge of your seat? It leaves you wanting more. You are left asking the question, what happens now? Sometimes in life, something dramatic will happen and leaves you asking what happens next? Just like there is a sequel to the movie and TV show, this is not the end to your story.

Let’s take a look at John, Chapter 11. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were believers and followers of Jesus. They believed in what He taught and believed that Jesus was the Son of God. Lazarus fell sick, and his sisters sent a message to Jesus, saying the one He loves is sick. If you remember, Jesus did not leave immediately. In a previous post, I spoke about the timing of God. Jesus knew that it was not the right time to go. The Bible said that He stayed where He was for two more days before He and His disciples went to Judea. When the people approached Jesus about the Lazarus being sick, His response was, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus prayed to God and then called Lazarus by name. Lazarus comes forth, and Jesus commands that the grave clothes be removed and that Lazarus is loosed and let go. Lazarus’ story did not end at death; there was more to his story.

Your story does not end when you don’t have enough money to pay your bills. Your story does not end when the one that you love walks away and leaves you with a broken heart. Your story does not end when you don’t get the promotion you worked hard for or lose your job. Your story does not end when you get a diagnosis from the doctor. Your story does not end when it seems like your life is not what you hoped it would be. There is more to your story. Don’t feed into the lies that this is it. Don’t feed into the lies of I can’t do any better than this and settle. There is so much more for you. God has so much more in store for you, and He wants you to have everything you are entitled to as a child of God. Take the limits off God and allow Him to do what He desires. God is a big God, and the thing that He is doing for you will be big! Allow God to use you to blow the minds of the people who are waiting and watching to see if you are going to give up. The test and trials that were meant to break you are instead shaping and molding you. Choose to look at your circumstances from a different perspective.

Instead of being upset about the one you loved walked away, see it as God has someone better for me. God has a purpose and a plan for my life. I cannot be attached to just anyone. He or she has to be able to handle and support the assignment that God has for me. You didn’t get the promotion that you had your heart set on. Instead of becoming bitter, become better. Take your job performance to another level and watch the doors of opportunity open on your behalf. Allow the people around you to see God at work in you. Change your perception. If you remember the statement Jesus made when the people first informed Him that Lazarus was sick, He said the sickness was not unto death but for the glory of God. Lazarus had to die. The people had to see that Jesus is the Son of God. The people had to know the authority that Jesus operated in was given to Him by the one and only true God. The people had to see that God is the one who holds all power in His hands. The people had to see the resurrecting power of God.

You had to go through what you went through. You have to go through what you are going through now. The picture is bigger than you because people are watching. Allow your situation to be what piques their curiosity about God. You know your life’s story better than anybody else. Allow your story to be told about how God delivered you from your issues. Allow your story to be told of how God brought you and your children through as a single parent. Allow your story to be told of how you waited patiently for your Boaz or your Esther. Allow your story to be told of how God healed your body. Allow your story to be told how you thought it was the end, but God came through with the sequel to your story. When Lazarus came forth after being dead for four days, I can only imagine the talk that went forth throughout the land and hearts that turned to God after that day. The same will happen to you. Take a stance today that this is not the end of your story. Declare that there is more, allow God to do the work, and watch the lives that are changed from your story.