Your Story, God's Glory (2)

Text: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Scripture Reading: James 1:2–4 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

We all have a story. There are high moments and low moments. There a seasons of plenty and seasons of want. There are times when we are uncertain and times when we are sure. Your story is part of what makes you who you are today.

I want to start today by telling you someone else’s story today.

This man was born in Kentucky in 1809 into abject poverty. His family worked as subsistence farmers, meaning that they primarily farmed for their own consumption rather than for sale in the Market.

His family constantly relocated, searching for better land. His uneducated father, Thomas, disapproved of his son’s frequent reading breaks. In fact, Thomas would punish his son for reading too much.

Thomas would also lend his son to neighbors to work for them to help pay for family expenses.

Finally, this young man from Kentucky knew profound loss. His Mother died when he was 9 and then a decade later, his beloved older sister also died in childbirth.

Does anybody know who I am talking about? Right! Abraham Lincoln!

Abraham Lincoln was shaped through his story! He opposed slavery, had compassion on the poor, and did his best to preserve the union of the United States through our devastating civil war.

As I already said, we have a story. And our story can either be our excuse for bad behavior, poor choices, and underwhelming results...OR...it can be the building blocks that God uses to accomplish his perfect will through you!

Which leads me to the first point that I want to

God Shapes You Through Your Story

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the story of Moses.

Moses is born into slavery in Egypt...he is supposed to be thrown into the Nile River to drown as an infant (Pharaoh was trying to control the population of the Israelites)

Instead, his mother does put him into the Nile, except she puts him in a water proof basket and strategically places him where Egyptian royalty bathes.

Moses is ultimately adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter but he remembers who he is and where he comes from.

And one day, he decides to do something about the suffering that his people are facing. So he kills and Egyptian who is beating a fellow Hebrew.

The Pharaoh catches wind and calls for Moses’ death, so Moses flees. He finds a new place and settles down as a Shepherd, his life in Egypt all but forgotten. But God wants to use Moses’ Egyptian knowledge and experience.

So he meets him out in the wilderness, on a mountain, where he is watching his sheep. He meets him in a burning bush. The side of a mountain becomes Holy Ground and God calls Moses to do the job that his story had prepared him for.

Exodus 3:7–10 “Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.””

God had been shaping Moses for this very thing. And Moses had no idea!

God has been shaping you! Keep your eyes open to what he might be calling you to!

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

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God doesn’t just use the good parts of our story, he also uses that bad stuff, which leads me to my second point.

Your Wounds Can Become Your Witness

2 Corinthians 1:5–7 “For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.”

When you are wounded...cling to Christ. Sometimes we are wounded by well-meaning people...some times we are wounded by evil people. Either way, Christ can redeem our woundedness and it can become part of our story.

Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians says this:

2 Corinthians 1:8–10 “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.”

You see, Paul’s brush with death became his witness.

When we face terrible circumstances, we need to let go of our control and lean

There is an ancient form of art called Kintsugi. It is said to have originated with a Shogun from Japanese history.

Kintsugi is about making broken objects, mainly pottery, whole again.

With Kintsugi, the breaking and repairing of an object is simply and event in it’s life. Many of us have had these events. If you’re young and you have yet to be broken, I hate to break it to you (pun intended) but it’s just a matter of time before you’re a broken mess on the floor.

God wants to be the master craftsman who picks you up and repairs you. He wants your brokenness and his repair to simply be an event in your life. He doesn’t want you to stay broken!

There are some truths about Kintsugi that we can apply to human lives.

“Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect.”

As pottery is repaired, there is an acceptance and beauty that comes. It doesn’t look new, but the scars (the cracks) are beautiful! God wants to put you back together and he wants your scars to be beautiful! He doesn’t want them to be ugly reminders of the pain your faced, rather he wants them to reminders of his grace, his mercy and his redemption.

Your wounds can become your witness!

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And finally,

Your Calling Is Connected To Your Journey

I could go back to Moses here, but instead, I want us to think about David.

God has the prophet Samuel anoint David to be king when he is a young shepherd boy in his early teens.

It would take 20 years for David to become king.

His Journey would take him from the shepherd’s field, through the king’s court as a musician, to stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone, and into the army ranks of the Saul, the current king of Israel. He would befriend Jonathan, the king’s son, he would lead soldiers into battle...This was David’s journey. God was preparing David to be king.

Take some time think about your journey. What have you learned over the years. Who have you become? How does your past inform your future? If you are thinking about doing something that isn’t rooted in your journey, my guess is that either you’re not ready yet, or that’s not what God is calling you to after all.

As I think about the journey that I have been on in my life, there is one thing that comes to mind. My parents were house parents at 2 different children’s homes while I was growing up. We had 4 to 6 girls living in our home at any given time. And those girls came from some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. As I heard their stories and got to know them, I began to have a heart for broken people. I ultimately think that God was preparing me for the ministry that I would begin to lead. I have always had a heart for the hurting, the broken, the lost. I have despised churches that had cliques and in-crowds.

My calling to live and work in rural Oklahoma, to reach people in Cordell that nobody is reaching, is connected to my journey and where God has taken me.

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Conclusion:

So as we wrap up this series, don’t forget that you were made for this! (wonderfully made, fully known, not alone, and purposefully placed)

You have a Sweet Spot! A place where God’s design—your gifts and natural abilities—and his calling align to serve others and lead them to Christ

Remember that your ordinary work has a sacred purpose. That work can be worship, purpose can be found int he mundane, and you represent God in your role

And finally, that your story is God’s glory! God never wastes a story, your past, even the pain—prepares you for your purpose.

Now go out and live it out!