First, I would like to start with the main points that a speaker made at a Girls Ministries camp that I attended a few weeks ago, which were the springboard for what God revealed to me.
• It took a lot of courage for Cinderella to respond to the prince’s invitation to the ball because of how her family made her feel.
• It also took a lot of courage for Mary to obey and follow God’s plan for her life.
• If we agree to follow Jesus and accept His invitation, and keep our eyes on Him, He will take us on a beautiful dance that will last the rest of our lives.
I was so moved by what she said.
These are the
similarities God showed me between the Cinderella story and our story.
1.
God gives us loyal, kind family and friends
who truly value us during hard times.
Throughout her
story, Cinderella could enjoy the support of her animal friends who genuinely
loved her and displayed that love in real, practical ways. God does the same for us. I’m sure as you read point number one,
immediately certain people’s faces came to mind. They are God’s gift to us on our journey.
We can find
several examples of these close-knit, loving relationships in Scripture: Naomi and Ruth, Boaz and Ruth, Elijah and
Elisha, Jacob and Joseph, as well as David and Jonathan. Some of these were blood relatives; some were
not. These people knew each other
intimately, supported each other, and were loyal until death separated
them. Those relationships brought such a
sense of security to each of them.
2.
Because
of free will, God ALLOWS evil to happen.
In the same way
that Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters were relentless in their attempts
to destroy her, Satan is relentless in HIS attempts to destroy us. That is a real fact. If you’re not sure, read I Peter 5:8 and John10:10. God allows evil, but not because
he is a “bad” God. On the contrary,
paradoxically, it proves His love
for us because He gives each of us the freedom to choose good or evil. God
never promises us a life free of evil and turmoil. Instead, He uses the evil and turmoil to grow
us and He promises to be with us forever.
Here are some Scriptures to look up which prove this: John 16:33 and Joshua 1:9.
3.
In
our misery and trials, God always brings us hope.
Cinderella had
many beacons of hope during her difficult season:
a.
The prince deemed her worthy of an invitation to
the ball.
b.
She was granted the highly unlikely possibility of
going from an abused slave to royalty almost overnight (remind you of
anyone?!—like Esther or Joseph?!, even though Esther was never technically
abused, I suppose)
c.
She dared to hope that she could go to the ball (She did not give up on herself
or pity herself because of her situation.).
In the same way,
God will ALWAYS bring us our own
beacons of light in our darkness.
Sometimes we are so consumed by the darkness that we can’t see the
light. I assure you, if you look for the
light, God will open your eyes to see it.
Sometimes I tend to take those beacons of light for granted, and I must
make a conscious effort to really meditate on His greatness and His goodness in
my life. I want to recognize and ENJOY all the blessings He brings me. But sometimes I must work at seeing them and
appreciating them (and Him). I am
reminded of the story of Elisha and his servant in II Kings 6:13-18, when the
Arameans planned to attack Israel with a great army. The servant was petrified, but Elisha asked
God to open the servant’s eyes. Suddenly
the servant saw the multitude of God’s armies ready to fight for Israel and he
was greatly encouraged. God wants to
encourage us in our journey, but we must receive the hope He brings us.
4.
God requires us to do our part to fulfill
His plan for our lives.
Cinderella had
to make her own preparations to attend the ball—she had to find a dress and
transform it into a ball gown. In the
same way, God doesn’t just pave the way for us to walk effortlessly into our
future. God told Abraham that his
descendants would inherit the Promised Land, but when the time was right, the
Israelites didn’t just waltz into the Promised Land effortlessly—they spent
seven years battling fiercely to receive their promise. We, too, must fight our own battles to
receive our own Promised Land, whatever that looks like for each of us
personally.
When Cinderella
was prevented from fulfilling her plan to get to the ball, her friends came to
the rescue and did what she was not able to do.
God will equip us to fulfill each purpose and plan that He has for
us. Even when our situation seems
dismal, He will make a way where there absolutely seems to be no way. Sometimes I agonize relentlessly to try to figure
out how God is going to make the miracle I’m waiting for, but, inevitably,
He—being the INCREDIBLE and creative God that He is—will do something that I
could never have conceived myself. Then
I fall even more in love with Him. There
are so many Bible stories that prove this point: Joseph, David, Esther, and Ruth, to name a
few.
6 6.
No
matter what attempts Satan makes to thwart our destiny in Christ, God’s will
ALWAYS prevails when we follow Him wholeheartedly.
All the devious
schemes that Cinderella’s stepfamily carried out in order to prevent Cinderella
from attending the ball ultimately failed.
:D The same is true for Satan. He can, and WILL, work tirelessly to destroy
us in every conceivable way. HOWEVER,
the God we serve is much greater than he can ever hope to be, so when we keep
our eyes on the Lord (and don’t allow ourselves to be distracted by
circumstances or limited by our myopic human vision), we can rest in the
confidence that God is working behind the scenes to fulfill His will for our
lives.
In the story of
Cinderella, when all hope seemed lost and time had all but run out, her fairy
godmother appeared and saved the day.
That is what God does in our own lives.
When we truly see no way out, when we can’t imagine how the miracle can
come, when all seems lost, God is still making a way. It doesn’t matter that we can’t see it. That’s just WHO God is and that’s HOW He
operates. It’s a fact.
After the ball, the
prince was determined to find the owner of the glass slipper. Nothing could
deter him. He was very focused on his
mission, and he was not going to give up until he found the owner of the
slipper. God had to pursue me for
several years before I was willing to surrender my life to Him. I look back now and I am extremely grateful
that He did not give up on me. I could
sense Him continually nudging me in His direction, despite my great
resistance. He saw the broken mess that
I was, but what is more, He saw
BEYOND the broken mess and focused on the beauty that almost no one else could
see, certainly not even myself. And like
a good Daddy, He keeps helping me to perceive what He sees in me when He looks
down from heaven. I am trying to see
people through His eyes as well, because His great grace toward me makes me
want to give that same grace to others.
·
“… the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds
the one who trusts in Him.” (Psalm 32:10)
·
“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth
is full of His unfailing love.” (Psalm 33:5)
·
“For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I
Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.” (Ezekiel 34:11)
·
"I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and
strengthen the sick;” (Ezekiel
34:16)
·
"What do you think? If any man has a
hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the
ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search
for the one that is straying?” (Matthew
18:12)
88.
Where we put a period (thinking God has
finished that particular work in our life), God has oftentimes only put a
comma.
When the ball was
over, Cinderella went back to her regular life, convinced that her magical
moment was over forever. She had no idea
that the best was yet to come. She did
not see the princess in her, but the prince did. 😊
So many times in my
life, I have put a period, or closed a particular chapter of my life, only to
discover that God was not finished yet.
He had marvelous, grand plans that I could never have envisioned myself. I become amazed all over again at how truly awesome
He is. To quote the apostle Paul: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us,” (Eph. 3:20). Likewise, as a wise friend pointed out to me
recently, when Jesus died, the disciples put a period, certain that chapter of
their life was over. However, the best
was yet to come for them!
I really hope that something in
this post spoke to your soul and encouraged you today. I hope this reminded you that you serve a BIG
God. Nothing is impossible with Him. Nothing.
He knows you more intimately than anyone else can, and He loves you more
deeply than anyone else can. He IS
enough. I’m sure the creator of this
fairy tale never dreamed that this story would be immensely popular centuries
after its conception, much less reveal several profound spiritual truths that help
us understand our spiritual journey on this planet. I hope I have successfully demonstrated that
you have a fairy-tale life! And for every
Christian, the best is DEFINITELY yet to come because heaven awaits us, and it doesn’t
get any better than that! 😊
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