Two Narratives

There are two narratives of the world unfolding in front of us simultaneously. Isaiah 60:1-2 says,
“Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory is over you.”

In the narrative of heaven, we are rising and the light of God shines upon us. His glory is manifest as we look upon Him. In the narrative of the world, built upon Satan’s lies, darkness is covering the earth and a deep, impenetrable darkness is covering all the people of the earth.

Many around us today are saying that the world has never been darker, nor have they struggled as hard in it. The economy is failing, people are out of work. The housing market is in a shambles. Across the globe there are wars, sectarian violence, and religiously inspired terrorism. Cultural norms are falling daily, threatening our sense of normalcy and security. Temptation and distraction increases with the stress level. That is the narrative that Satan wants us to believe, and to focus on.

The other narrative is not as easy to see, at least with our physical eyes. This is the narrative of heaven. In this narrative, we are rising not falling. We may have been knocked down, but we are coming up with strength. In fact, this is what the word “arise” means; to stand with power. In the narrative of heaven, we are shining with heavenly light and the glory of God is upon us. The light dispels the darkness around us and the glory of God reflects our adoption into heaven.

But which of these narratives are we listening to? Which one are we seeing unfold around us? Is it the narrative of light and glory, or the narrative of depression, dread and confusion?

You have a choice. Both narratives are around us all the time. The narrative of heaven is in the spiritual realm and it is invading earth daily. The narrative of the world is manifest around us in the physical world constantly. What we choose to see, where we choose to look, by our beliefs and our behavior will determine which narrative we see around us. And the narrative that we focus on determines our attitude; saved, hopeful, and victorious or depressed, cynical, and fatalistic.

So how can we choose? It isn’t that most people want to be depressed, cynical, or fatalistic. It’s just very hard to be hopeful and victorious when all around us we see pain, misery and disorder. How can we be joyful when the world is such a hurting place.

The answer is that we must trust in the world that we cannot see. We must have faith; faith in the eternal promises of God and His always-good character. In 2 Kings 6, the King of Aram is furious with Elisha because he is able to tell the King of Israel every move that Aram is going to make before it happens. The Aramean king sends troops to capture Elisha. As they arrive the following exchange occurs between Elisha and his servant.

"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."

We, like Elijah’s servant, mostly do not have the heavenly sight to see the hosts of angels that we have fighting for us. Steeped in the world, aligned with the things of the world, beholden to worldly views and activities, it is a struggle to break out of the worldly mindset. We must pray for divine sight and choose to put on heavenly glasses. We must fill ourselves with the things of heaven. We must choose to regard that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.

And if you now are tempted to begin doing a spiritual triathlon because you believe that the spiritual response must be equal to the darkness of the world which besets us, remember that Jesus was able to save the whole world, for all time, by shedding one drop of blood. It is not the length, breadth, height or weight of the effort which counts, it is the heart behind it. By His attitude and love for mankind, Jesus was able to make the death of one human being into the salvation of mankind.

And when we have done all that, and possibly the onslaught has not abated, What next? As Paul said in Ephesians 6, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” At the end of our efforts to see and understand God’s way, there is no other choice but to stand.