Last Friday night Mimi and Papa took our family to the CIRCUS! I know I’ve been before, but it was long enough ago for me to have forgotten the bright and lively circus atmosphere. Of course, there were three rings, and we were sitting at the end of the auditorium. Between each act, the roving spotlights would go out and all we would hear was the dramatic voice of the ring master say, “Now, everyone! Turn your attention up high!”
He wanted us to look up because down below the circus roadies were moving out all the pieces of the last act. The Tigers, their trainers and their cages, the chairs and stools- all vanishing while, at the same time, the stage was being set for the next act.
Ofcourse, for our girls sitting next to me the darkness and emptiness in between acts made them think the show was over.
From my seat, I could see over the railing to the entrance ramp. While the stage was being cleared and reset for the next act out front, I had the best vantage. I could see the next performers preparing for their grand entrance!
The fire jugglers were warming up, the animals were rehearsing their cues. The acrobats were ruffling their feathers.
For me, It was more exciting to see what was about to happen next! Every time our girls got anxious I would tell them, “Girls! just hang on! You’re going to LOVE what’s coming! The next act is even better than the one we just saw!
Just hang on! It may be dark now, but what’s coming next is going to be so great!
You may be in between acts right now and you think the show is over. Let me encourage you, it may just be that God is clearing the way and making ready the next great plans He has for your life!
On Thursday mornings, I’m teaching through the book of Ruth. This morning I taught about the homecoming of Naomi. While she never lost faith in The One whom she called, "Almighty God" Naomi surely had reason to believe that God was through with her. She had lost her husband and sons and was grieving the life she once had. “I left full and came back empty” was how she described her current situation to the women of the town who were stirred by her arrival back home.
But if you look in Ruth 1:22, you can see God setting the stage for His glory to shine. At the end of the verse it says that Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem, “. . . at the beginning of the Barley harvest.”
Imagine with me, a stage, set with all the players. Naomi and Ruth surrounded by the women of Bethlehem, all bearing witness to the brokenness of Naomi’s condition; Their shocked whispers testify to the grief and bitterness that has so dramatically altered her countenance.
Then the lights go out on that scene. The stage is cleared. Just when you think the show is over, the lights come back up to illuminate a new season. A golden field. There stands a kind redeemer. The next act begins. Salvation is near.
Friends, open up God’s word with me and look over the rail. Look at what’s being prepared. It may be dark now, but what’s coming next is going to be so great!
"But as it is written:
'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'”
1 Corinthians 2:9
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