The Story of the World
Times when I get a glimpse of God's workings in the world around us, I am overwhelmed with awe at the wonder of it all! From before the beginning of the world, God's plan has played out like a perfect script, with clues for us to discover (or not) along the way.
This morning as I read a devotional, I discovered one of those revelations and I was stunned by its beauty.
The pictures, illustrations and foreshadowing God gives to us throughout history is amazing. A single picture can sometimes span thousands of years before we see its completion. Here is one example from a devotion written by Stephen Davey in Heart to Heart Magazine, June 2020 (yes, I read ahead). The illustration begins after the flood, fast forwarding to the baptism of Jesus:
"In Genesis 8, Noah sends out a dove from the ark, and the dove returns with an olive leaf. Seven days later, Noah sends out the dove again and the bird does not return. I find this deeply poetic. In Mark 1:10, it is written 'And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.'
"Jesus passes through the symbolic floodwaters of God's judgment and, as He reemerges, God sends a dove, as it were, to rest on His shoulder. It's as if for thousands of years, that anointed dove has been flying around, longing for a final resting place, hovering over Abraham and Moses and David, saying, 'Not this one, not yet, not quite.' Now, at long last, the dove can come to rest on Christ's almighty shoulders."
What a beautiful picture illustrating God's rescue of mankind "in the days of Noah" from worldwide judgment for sin. The picture features a gentle dove who flew from that life-saving ark, and then returned, so to speak, to the new life-saving ark that is found in the work of Jesus Christ. This ark of salvation represents the completion of God's rescue of mankind from the judgment of sin through the work of His perfect Son.
This is such a vivid reminder that God is in control of every facet of everything, and He knows the future just as well as He knows the past and the present. What might seem like an insignificant thing is a reminder that He is in control -- and He wants to share the wonder of what He is doing with His children through clues sprinkled throughout His Word. The Bible is full of such gems -- many of which we have yet to discover.
The threads God weaves throughout history in this tapestry called life are full of deeper meaning - even from ancient times. Especially from ancient times, because the past will continue to affect the future until the end of time.
Does your life sometimes seem to resemble the mass of threads in the picture above? This is an embroidery on display in the house of Corrie ten Boom in Haarlem, Netherlands. She would probably have considered this a good representation of the mess of her life during WWII when her family suffered, some even dying, in the concentration camps after helping save the lives of hundreds of Jewish people.
When the mass of threads picture was flipped to the other side, this beautiful crown could be seen. What appeared to be a tangled mess, full of pain and confusion, resulted in a thing of beauty. As this picture illustrates life, we once again, see how God works in mysterious ways in the story of the world and the individual stories of His people. He has a plan -- He always has a plan!
"You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God" Isaiah 62:3 ESV.
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