At a future time we shall awaken to the full truth of all this. It will be serendipity, even a moment of deja vu. Suddenly Sleeping Beauty will awaken. The people in the faith of Abraham will realize that they themselves are called out, but not just as an ekklesia sitting in a pew. When the trials come, as they will, they will be called upon to be his witnesses. As such they will go up on the stage of history and become central characters in the play. Our life and witness is being written into this big all-encompassing story. And like the classic opera or the fireworks festival we know from the truth we see in the arts just how it all ends. The story will end in spectacular fashion, in a magnificent crescendo.
So there is indeed deliverance at the end. And there is a song in the night. The rejoicing starts with a song of deliverance, the one Miriam sang when she took up the timbrel and danced back at the time of the Exodus. But then it goes on from there. We find joy in a relationship with a Person. Right from the beginning He just asked us to walk with Him day by day. He has paid the price of our redemption with His own blood. He is our Friend in a covenant of lovingkindness that goes on for all eternity. There is nothing difficult here. A strange and wonderful divine romance just grows inside us as we walk with Him along the way. He is also the Prince of Righteousness and Peace. And as we shall discover, this epic saga climaxing with a glorious deliverance is not just something written for others or just about others. It is OUR story.
