Which Sort of Stone?

I have been thinking this week about an aspect of the victim mentality. When bad things happen to us, it is easy to believe that our future has been permanently blocked. We planned that our life would go a certain way, and then things went completely out of our control. We found out that we were not as strong, not as pure, or not as smart as we thought we were. The people that we relied on could not recognize us for who we will be in the future.

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,” - Philippians 2:8-9

Jesus did not die a victor according this world’s way of thinking. He died mostly alone after having been falsely accused, mocked, and beaten. When they sealed his tomb with a large stone, it appeared that his life and his legacy had been cut off. It did not end there though. God redefined the tombstone to be a stepping stone. What looks like defeat can actually be the path to tremendous success.

Yesterday, I was reading an article about a nineteenth century shipwreck. Someone made a mistake, a ship was going down, and heroes were born that day. The article had a quote that stuck out to me: “History is made up of a lot of people who never made it into the books...It was filled with everyday people who got into a situation beyond their control.” My desire that I will be able to live my life with that truth in mind.  I want to have the type of faith that allows me to see tombstones as stepping stones.