Message Recap
Pastor Dave led us in our final week for our At the Movies series with the Hallmark movie, Twinkle All the Way. Many of us may not have heard of this particular movie, but what we are familiar with is the happy-ending nature of Hallmark movies, of which this one is no different. In this movie, in particular, there are two single parents who approach their circumstances quite differently: in response to his wife's death, Henry approaches life in a carefree spontaneous manner. Cadence, on the other hand, understandably deeply affected by her ex's absence, tries to micromanage all of life, leaving nothing left to chance.
While you may not experience their exact situations, perhaps you can relate. Perhaps the happy ending you were dreaming of and hoping for seems to be far from reach. Pastor Dave shared that in his experience, most people tend to face such loss in a similar manner to Henry and Cadence—either live in denial and face life with reckless abandon or try to control every last detail by micromanaging and working harder. Neither approach really works, though.
So how do we approach our lives when they just aren't going how we had hoped? Pastor Dave led us into Philippians to answer this question. There we find Paul in prison—a pretty awful place—writing about joy no matter what life brings his way. There are three main points Pastor Dave shared with us:
- Trust God
Paul writes, "Being confident of this..." Paul is certain that God is going to do what God is going to do. He knows he cannot micromanage or avoid his issue; his confidence is placed in God. We can trust God because He is all-powerful and He loves us!
- Lean into relationship
We cannot thrive alone. To live with joy in hard times, we need to trust God and lean into relationships. Paul writes in verse five, "because of your partnership..." The Philippians supported Paul with money, food, and clothing, as well as prayers. Paul was writing to his friends. We need one another and can't become everything God has designed us to be if we are not in relationship with one another.
- Pray for inner strength and growth
When pressure arises and issues surface, how do we handle it? In verses, 9-11, Paul is essentially encouraging the Philippians to pray for inner strength and growth. Paul wants them to grow in love and knowledge and be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
Finally, each of us has a story, and God is the author of that story. The way we identify a good story isn't necessarily by the beginning or the middle, for that matter. Usually, a story is defined by its ending. While this year may not be perfect, God will finish what He started. He is faithful to complete the good work that He has begun. The last words in Revelation say, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen." Which, as Pastor Dave shared, is Bible speak, for they lived happily ever after. Our ending is in eternity with Jesus, and that is a very, very good ending to our stories.
