Live the life that unfolds before you
When the wisdom of the Bible and the wisdom of fiction overlap
Last year my son and I started reading the Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers, a fantasy series that draws on elements of David’s story from the Bible but with more of a medieval twist and plenty of creative license. There was a repeated line throughout all of the books from the character who acts as a prophet. After receiving the prophecy that he is destined to be king, the young protagonist, Aidan, asks the prophet what he should do now in response to this earth-shattering news. The prophet says, “Live the life that unfolds before you.” Don’t get ahead of yourself. Take it one step at a time. Don’t force this prophecy, but allow it to unfold in God’s time.
There are multiple crucial moments in the story where the young boy feels hopeless or confused and asks the prophet again, “What should I do?” But the answer always remains the same. The prophet never gives him another grand vision and never spells out exactly how the prophecy will be fulfilled. He just reminds Aidan to live the life that unfolds before him.
I’ve come back to that phrase again and again since we started those books. The more that I think about it, the more the wisdom resonates. In reading the final chapters in Genesis, as we hear about the injustices and challenges faced by Joseph before the story resolves, I thought about it again. Joseph received a prophetic dream with news that he would be elevated above his brothers, but then things took an unexpected turn. Instead of bowing down to him, his brothers sold him into slavery. It was decades before Joseph saw his family again and they were reconciled. During that interval Joseph was not only a slave, but also spent several years in prison. These weren’t easy years, and I would imagine that there were numerous times when Joseph questioned what was happening and why God allowed this to be his life rather than the success of the dreams that he had in his youth. Even with all of this, Joseph kept living the life that unfolded before him: being a good steward of the responsibilities given to him and sharing his gift for interpreting dreams with prisoners and kings alike. Through his faithfulness to keep going and keep living life with integrity, Joseph eventually saw the realization of his childhood dream. The story ends with reconciliation and forgiveness, and Joseph tells his brothers in chapter 50, “although you intended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.”1
Sometimes I hear Genesis summarized as a story about the fallen nature of humans, and how we can never measure up to what God wants for us. I think there’s certainly an element of truth there. But as I wrap up this reading of Genesis this year, what I’ve seen as a main takeaway is not how disappointed God is with us because of our failures, but how faithful God is to continue walking with us and leading us toward a better path, despite our circumstances and even despite our own tendencies to wander.
There are times in our lives that we will also feel like we’re in the dark—in a pit, maybe—and the circumstances feel hopeless. We aren’t sure what God is up to or how we can possibly make a difference in all of the mess. When we’re wondering how to fix it all or feeling hopeless that things can ever work out based on the way that they look now, I encourage us to remember the words of “Bayard the truthsayer” and the example of Joseph:
Live the life that unfolds before us. One day at a time; one step at a time.
Trust that what others intend for evil, God can use for good.
Some relevant free resources:
Reflect on the faithfulness of God with this video from the Bible Project.
This story also reflects God’s loyal love to Abraham and his descendants.
Genesis 50:20, The Jewish Study Bible Tanakh Version