The Author Makes the Story Arc

This morning, I was struck by Acts 8's two main characters: Simon the Sorcerer and the Ethiopian Eunuch. The way my Bible has the chapter laid out, the two stories are side by side: Simon is in one column, and in the next column is the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, so in a way, it looks almost like those pros and cons T-charts I draw when I need to make a decision.

On the left side of the T-chart, Simon went down in flames when Peter rebuked him: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

The eunuch on the other hand was reading the scriptures when Philip was sent to him, and he said: "Tell me, please, who is this prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"

All right, here are the two sides of the T-chart, the comparisons and contrasts: Both men sought understanding. Simon sought the power that came from that understanding. The eunuch (I wish Luke had named him; I'll call him Ethan for simplicity's sake)... Ethan sought the understanding itself.

Both men had interactions with the apostles, and through that, learned about the message of salvation. Simon sought out the apostles, attracted by the things they were doing. The Lord sent Philip to Ethan to explain the Scriptures.

At the close of each of these little stories, there's a powerful feeling each of these men felt. Simon's feeling was dread: "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me." Ethan's feeling was joy: "And the eunuch did not see [Philip] again, but he went on his way rejoicing."

The word says in James 4:2-3: "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." I think Simon's story illustrates this concept in sparkling detail. In the last week, I've been reminded in at least two completely unrelated places that it's important to search the heart of God, and then prudently, bring back the things we ask before the Lord to "double-check."

One of those places was from a Facebook post by Beth Moore, and I resonated with it, because in the post, she reminded us that to doubt God is sin, but to double-check that we are staying on God's path is prudence.

My tendency is the other way: I want to double and triple and quadruple check, and I think there has to be balance as well, so that my prayers don't turn into doubt. Ask and trust, double-check and then let it go.

Simon was a seeker, but it seems like he didn't seek the correct things. I mentioned a few days back about the end-game, the focus on the ultimate goal, and rather than being caught up in his desires for the smaller gifts, Simon should have had his eyes on the big prize.

I'm going to use a nerdy analogy here: Over my years of writing novels, I've learned there's a fairly specific formula that belongs to fiction, and it's called the story arc (I remember learning about the story arc in my classes in high school; shockingly, what my teacher said was true - every fiction story has a story arc). Within each story arc, you've got a hook, rising action, a big climax, falling action, and then a resolution. If you as the author step outside of that arc, your story falls apart. Within the arc, you've got a million possibilities for how your characters will take the story, but those five things are concrete tenets of Story.

Now, Series arc is the exact same thing. You have to have a hook, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, as well, but on a much grander scale that over-arches and cooperates with every single book within the series.

When done correctly, when every book in the series has a tight story arc, and when the whole series maintains a tight series arc, and when the two work seamlessly together, that final climax, falling action, and resolution is the most chillbump-worthy amazing WOW-moment of all.

So this morning, the Lord said to my heart: "These times you're living in, they're my plan. I've got that WOW-moment. You're a part of one of my story lines. All my people are a part of one of those story lines, and I'm working to make sure that all those story lines work seamlessly together to lead up to that climactic, amazing finish line."

I've been sensing that there's a momentum building toward something. There are a lot of questions I have about this, but I don't think I necessarily need to know the answers. Like the characters in my books, I don't really need to see the ending until I get there: God is the author, and y'all, He knows what He's doing. I sense that forward movement in His plan, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

So. All that to say: I'm praying for that resolution, and for all the parts that we play... to work together seamlessly. The Lord has stationed every single one of us in His story for a specific purpose, and we need to be faithful to walk the path He's laid out for us.

I've had characters that are stubborn. When I get too wild-eyed about it, my husband says: "Just make them behave." And I laugh at him, because sometimes those characters just decide they're going to turn around and do something that is not what I wanted. We are not controlled by God, but we are definitely led by Him, and I'm so thankful that I can relax and let Him guide me where I need to be.