Letting God Fill in the Blanks
LYSA TERKEURST
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6 (NIV)
There’s this little painting that hangs in my home. Most people
wouldn’t consider it a masterpiece. I only paid $5 /for it /at an estate
sale, but I like it because it speaks redemption to my soul /every time () I
look at it.
I don’t know what happened to the gal //who painted it. [All I know] is ()
it seems () something about her life fell apart. And one day a company
opened her front door to strangers. They walked through all the sacred
spaces () she once called home and bought the stuff () her life had collected.
I guess () I’m too sentimental to attend estate sales; I couldn’t stand
it.
But I also couldn’t leave /without rescuing something in her creative
collection. Then I had the strangest notion to go on a wild adventure to
find this unknown painter. I pictured it like an epic scene in a movie
//where the music crescendos and I find her living in a New York
high-rise. I would knock on her door and make the great assumption //that
she would be thrilled with my announcement.
* epic; a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition,
narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the
history of a nation.
“I just want you to know () I love your work. I bought one of your
paintings and it speaks a message of redemption to me every day. And I
treasure it.”
Surely then she would get misty eyed, invite me in /for coffee and
share her devastatingly beautiful story. We would become wonderful
unlikely friends. She would go on to become a famous painter. And live
happily ever after.
But life isn’t usually /as epic /as what we see on movie screens. It’s
untidy and so unpredictable that our fragile hearts get broken
/at best,
crushed at worst. And sometimes it’s just easier to run away than to
risk [letting the shards of the fallout cut away the little bit of life
still left in us].
No crescendo to the music. No epic arc to the story. No lasting
friendship. Just a $5 painting that hangs in my kitchen.
And that’s all I
know.
Life sometimes keeps us from details //that are better left alone. It
keeps some of the blanks blank on the outline of this message.
Does it ever drive you crazy /when a speaker gives you an outline with blanks but then skips some of the points? Me too.
We like complete outlines. All the blanks filled in. All the gaps
closed. All the details disclosed. And all the why questions answered to
our satisfaction.
But that’s not the way life is. Some speakers are disorganized and
forgetful. Some gaps too wide to close. And there are some questions //for
which there are no apparent answers. I believe that’s the way God wants
it. Our all-knowing God not only allows this but actually designed life
to be this way.
Without blanks, we would have no room for Him to enter in and write His answers. For Him to become the Way /when there is no way. For Him to be the Truth /when lies long to be what consume our thoughts. For Him to be the Life
He’s designed on the other side of our crumbling attempts to control
our stories (John 14:6). Our God is not fickle, forgetful or fragile in
any way.
He does not make mistakes. He purposes the gaps. He allows
sacred spaces and blank places. He leaves room.
If we had all the blanks filled in, we would explain away God’s part
in our story. God doesn’t want to be explained away.
He wants to be
invited in. He wants us to make room for His additions to our story.
One time God was told, “There is no room,” and He turned an ordinary
stable/ into an unforgettable sanctuary.
“No room” became a space //through
which Jesus Christ stepped /through glory to the grit and grime of this
sin-soaked world.
What did He come to bring? Redemption.
And what do the blanks and unanswered questions of your life provide space for? Redemption.
So why is it OK with me if I never know the details of my kitchen painting? Redemption.
Father God, I thank You that [everything You do] has holy purpose.
Even the things that don’t make sense to me. Thank You for being the
way, the truth and the life that I need. You are my Redeemer and I trust
You with every detail of my story.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.