Eight‑year‑old Frank had looked forward for weeks to this particular Saturday because his father had promised to take him fishing if the weather was suitable. There had not been any rain for weeks and as Saturday approached, Frank was confident about the fishing trip. But, wouldn’t you know it, when Saturday morning dawned, it was raining heavily, and it appeared that it would continue all day.

 Frank wandered around the house, peering out the windows and grumbling more than a little. “Seems like the Lord would know that it would have been better to have the rain yesterday than today,” he complained to his father who was sitting by the fireplace enjoying a good book. His father tried to explain to Frank how badly the rain was needed, how it would make the flowers grow and bring much needed moisture to the farmers’ crops. But Frank was adamant. “It just isn’t right,” he said over and over.

Then, at about three o’clock, the rain stopped. Still time for some fishing, and quickly the gear was loaded, and they were off to the lake. Whether it was the rain or some other reason, the fish were biting hungrily and father and son returned with a full string of fine, big fish.

At supper, when some of the fish were ready, Frank’s mom asked him to say grace. Frank did‑‑and concluded his prayer by saying, “And, Lord, if I sounded grumpy earlier today it was because I couldn’t see far enough ahead.” 

No doubt much of our complaining is because we cannot see far enough ahead.

Today, I would like to talk about the One who knows the rest of your story.

My husband Gaylon was a pastor for thirty-three years and a chaplain for eighteen years. There was a period of time when Gaylon found himself with no pastorate, no open doors, and three children to feed. I thought, “Surely, this will end in a few days, and we will know exactly where we are going, and this test will be over.”

It did NOT end in a few days.

I remember one day as I was lying across my bed, I became engulfed in fear, anxiety, and even anger. “God, how could You allow this to continue? We serve You. How are we supposed to feed our children or pay the electric bill? You have forgotten us.”

Yep, that was my conversation with God. It was not my proudest moment in prayer. More complaining than prayer. My faith had totally been eaten up by fear and anger.

As I sobbed in my pillow, thinking of my children, I sensed God say, “They are my children, too.” I am so grateful for a God who can handle all my fears and anxieties when the ocean of life sends another wave to knock me down.

Thank God for the rest of the story!

While resting on my tear-stained pillow, the phone rang. On the other end of the line was a nationally known speaker who did not know me. She said that she was part of an advisory board of a church in Michigan. The church was without a pastor, and Gaylon’s name was given to her as a possibility of becoming their pastor.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement!

A couple of weeks later, Gaylon and I were on an airplane headed to Michigan. Without going into all the details, let me share the condensed version. It was a wonderful opportunity, and the church wanted Gaylon to become their pastor. After much prayer, we felt that was not where we were to go. Right after that the next step in our pastoral journey opened.

This is the power and the reach of the God we serve! A well-known minister, who does not even know us, calls and asks us to consider a church in Michigan. While ministering there, the church received an offering for us that paid our bills that were due. It was not our next place for pastoral work, but it was the place where God supplied our needs, and we were able to minister effectively to the church who was going through discouraging circumstances. God was doing something for us and something for that church.

Just a short amount of time passed until God opened our next door for ministry.

While I was faithless and angry, God was at work. Like Frank in the story above, I could not see far enough ahead. BUT GOD saw it all and was working all things together for my family and the family of God.

Beloved, we are always in the middle of our story. We yearn to know what is going to happen at the end of our stories. The waiting is not fun, and the middle of the story is often full of challenges, twists, and setbacks. Trusting God means trusting that while we cannot see the end from the beginning, He does.

What are you facing today that causes tears to fall and concern about the future? Please remember this: if we live on the earth, we are always in the middle of our story. As we allow the Lord to author the story with us, the rest of the story will be beautiful, not without challenge, but beautiful. Trust the heart and character of God who knows the rest of the story.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT; “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” – Psalm 20:7.