Happy Endings

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,” – Psalm 107:2.

A good movie is able to grab and keep your attention from the first second until the very end. The same is true of a good story.  We watch movies like Saving Mr. Banks to their conclusion because the plot looks interesting to us. It may have mystery. It may have intrigue. We may see a little or even a lot of ourselves in the characters. We don’t quit mid-story on an author or producer, we stick it out and see how it will end. In fact, we seem to gravitate toward impossible situations because we love great endings, and the more the odds are insurmountable, the better the ending.  We want to see what unfolds. So we give the movie producer or author a chance to finish the story.

There are many examples of movies that captivate us: Rocky and It’s a Wonderful Life to name a few.  We would miss so much if we did not let the story completely unfold.  But we don’t seem to do the same thing with God. We often run out of patience before God – the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) –  finishes our story.

Our lives are a story that God is writing.  And if we are honest, we would have to admit that we often quit mid-story. Why? Because we don’t like how He’s writing it. We want a happy, carefree story that is a romantic comedy or a funny sitcom that is not complicated and has little or no conflict. But God is writing a blockbuster, an epic that has twists and turns that will inspire future generations. We love epic endings, we just don’t want to be part of the hard parts leading to the ending.  But if we don’t let God finish our story, we will miss the good work He is doing in us. 

For 20 years, Walt Disney tried unsuccessfully to persuade Mrs. Travers to let him make a movie. But Mrs. Travers was adamant, refusing even to call him “Walt.” Walt Disney tells Mrs. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks that “George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.”  

We may be living the story that we didn’t want. We may have wanted a completely different story, where everything’s finally right, God is blessing us, relationships are thriving, business is booming, and the future is bright. We don’t want a story where cancer suddenly appears, the stock market crashes, your job is downsized, you just got a call from the IRS, and your teenage girls are mixing with the wrong crowd. And when that is the part of the story we are living today, we ask God why. And we think God is behind it all—permitting it, if not actually ordering it. We feel betrayed.

This is where faith and trust enter the story.  How much do you trust His authorship?  His love?  His goodness?  Do you give up on the story He is writing?  Or do you keep reading, curious to see how “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 KJV) Are we willing to wait patiently on the Lord to see how the story ends?

 I never really thought that putting down the pencil and letting God write my story would be so hard, yet so beautiful at the very same time. Putting my pencil, my story, my future in His hands, trusting only He can write the best selling story of my life is not easy. It’s never a best seller without pain, but the beautiful part is a best seller usually has a very happy ending.

Discussion Question:

1. Are you happy with your story so far? How is the speedometer in your life? What would you change?
2. Would you honestly say God is in charge of your life? What area is the hardest to give over control?
3. Can you trust God with the rest of the story?