Embedded in the story of redemption is a principle we must not miss: God uses ordinary, messy people to accomplish his extraordinary, divine mission on earth. It’s beautiful and amazing—but it is messy. What mission board, ministry, or local church would use the people God used in Scripture? To name just a few:

Moses (an exiled murderer) Gideon (fearful and hiding) David (the shepherd boy with no military training) Peter (who publicly denied Christ) Paul (persecutor of the church). Along with these are untold numbers of little people God used in big ways to fulfill his plan on earth.

You are included and enlisted in that wonderful plan today! But for much of our day, we are too easily captivated by our self-centered little schedules, chasing after a life consumed by personal happiness and achievement. Your life is much bigger than a good job, a happy marriage, and non-delinquent kids. It is more significant than beautiful gardens, nice vacations, and fashionable clothes.

All of these things can and should be pursued and enjoyed to the glory of God! But they should never replace or take priority over the grand redemptive narrative that you are a part of: God is rescuing fallen humanity, transporting them into his Kingdom, and progressively shaping them into his likeness. And he wants you to be a part of it.

The good news of the Kingdom is not freedom from hardship, suffering, and loss. It is the news of a Redeemer who has come to rescue me from myself. His rescue produces change that fundamentally alters my response to these inescapable realities.

As he changes us, he allows us to be part of what he is doing in the lives of others. As you respond to the Redeemer’s work in your life, you can learn to be an instrument in his hands.

Your life is bigger than you ever imagined. You live in one moment in time, yet you stand hand-in-hand with Enoch, Noah, Joseph, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Matthew, Peter, Paul, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and generations of unknown believers who understood their place in the kingdom and did their part in its work.

Only as you keep this in view will you be able to minister and disciple effectively in the situations, locations, and relationships where God has placed you. As human beings, we cannot walk through life on our own. We need rescue, healing, and forgiveness.

In short, we need God. We need the good news, the news of the King who has come, making lasting change possible. This alone is our personal hope and the basis of our personal ministry to others.

Poem: There is a story so grand so glorious so beautiful so wonderful it overshadows every story that has ever been conceived and written. Generations have been awakened, enthralled rescued,encouraged, redeemed by this narrative.

It is the story of stories. It begins before this world was set in place. It has no final chapter, It reaches into eternity, It reaches down to earth, It touches the heart, It restores and transforms what sin has broken.

Without the central character of this story there would be no hope, no eternal life, no grace, no daily mercies, no divine love to touch lost and broken ones, to rescue rebels, to reclaim fools, to draw idolaters to worship the King.

The hero of this story is God in the flesh, a suffering king, a sacrificial lamb, a sacrificial substitute, a promised messiah, a giver who is the gift a victorious conqueror, a reigning redeemer your dearest friend.

By grace his story is your story, his father is your father, his family is your family, his victory is your victory, his destiny is your destiny, so darkness can’t defeat you, sin can’t destroy you, and heaven’s open gates await you.

A Prayer for Today: God, please help me to see that my personal story is part of a much larger story that you are crafting and shaping into a beautiful grand narrative—the ultimate narrative. Thank you for inviting me in and including me in your grand story. Would you help me to keep your story front and center as I go about my life, and would you use me in any way you wish to bring glory to your name? In the name of my great Savior, Jesus…amen.

God bless,

Paul David Tripp

paultripp.com