Solving the Mystery: An Excerpt from Overflowing
What type of TV shows do you like to watch?
Reality TV? Game shows? Comedies? Mysteries?
What kind of books do you most often read?
Biographies? Historical Fiction? Mysteries?
Today … we are going to solve a mystery! Are you so excited?
Did you know that the Bible talks about a mystery? It surely does.
Not only does the Bible introduce us to a mystery – but it solves the mystery for us!
Let’s dive into the pages of my new book, “Overflowing – Living Abundantly in a Broken Culture” again this week. I love being able to share excerpts with you.
Although “Overflowing” is not a mystery, it does talk about a Biblical mystery. Are you ready? Read on …
My stepfather, whom I love dearly, loves breathtaking, heart-stopping mystery novels. He met my widowed mother online at seventy-two years old, and they have been happily married for sixteen years. Leo always has his reader in his hands and invariably is reading a “who-done-it.” This man who spent his life as an engineer working on projects around the world is not a casual reader, but he generally reads three to five books a week. Whenever I visit their cozy little Pennsylvania home, he is sitting in his big green chair reading a suspense novel from about 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Mom and Leo do, of course, take a short break during the day to go to one of their favorite restaurants.
I’ve never really been a fan of mysteries; my blood pressure soars, and my heart shakes with adrenaline if there is the tiniest bit of tension or uncertainty between the pages of a chosen book. A mystery is something that needs either solving or explaining, and I like all my books to follow a sweet pathway strewn with roses, music, and laughter.
Solved
There is, however, one mystery that makes my heart quake for joy and my eyes shine wide with wonder. This mystery is explained in the following passage:
Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints. (Colossians 1:25–26)
The mystery that has plagued the universe for ages has finally been solved in the kingdom of God. No longer does the conundrum of life, eternity, sin, and shame frustrate humanity at every turn in life. Now that the paradox no longer lingers, we have been given vibrant hope, inexpressible joy, and the peace that passes all understanding. The riddle has been answered and we have been given the promise of abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven. We are able to live exuberantly in the worst of human situations and to walk confidently in meaning and purpose all because of Jesus.
The mystery has been revealed and His name is Jesus—the name above all names.
To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
From the garden of Eden to the garden of Gethsemane, God had been working out His plan. From Creation to Calvary, there was no panic in heaven, but a strategic and intentional plan conceived in the heart of the Father. God’s majestic design to deal with sin, death, and separation was birthed in the heart of the Father all because of love. The glorious strategy waiting for the fullness of time had your name written on it.
God’s plan for salvation was Christ in you—the hope of glory.
The Father’s divine design for reconciliation was Christ in you—the hope of glory.
His joyous strategy to give you strength to deal with suffering was Christ in you—the hope of glory.
Nothing is hopeless any longer because Christ now lives in you, and He is your hope of glory. Every Christian should take the word hopeless out of our vocabulary list; for a Christian, hopelessness no longer exists. Hopeless behavior has been banished and hopeless situations are extinct. We are the people of hope, and we serve the God of all hope.
God has given to us unexplainable yet substantial hope for our health, for eternity, for abundant life, for unconditional love, for mercy, and for grace.
More Than a Mystery
The devil is a liar and the father of all lies; he will daily try to convince you a situation is hopeless. However, my friend, when this ridiculous wimp of a prevaricator informs you that your life is hopeless, start jumping up and down because you have hope! There is indeed hope for the people of God. His name is Jesus and He lives in you and therefore hope lives in you.
The hopes that courses through your spirit is more real than your blood, nerves, or brain. The Christ who lives in you:
Is the Firstborn of all creation.
Is before all things.
Holds all things together.
Is the Head of the body.
Is the beginning.
Is the Firstborn from the dead.
Has first place in everything.
Has all the fullness of the Father dwelling in Him.
This magnificent and merciful Christ lives in you. The hope He has brought to all our lives is powerful, magnetic, and restorative.
My friend, this is more than a mystery solved; this is a miracle!
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!
Help Bring Hope to a Hurting World!
I am launching three books this year, and we are preparing to make a major impact for the Kingdom of God. If you are on social media and you want to help spread this message of abundant hope and overflowing joy, can I invite you to join my Book Club with Carol Facebook group?
When you join, you’ll gain access to a FREE digital copy of Overflowing: Living Abundantly in a Broken Culture as well as other exclusive content, private teaching sessions, and fun giveaways.