Catastrophe
”A eucatastrophe is a sudden turn of events at the end of a story which ensures that the protagonist does not meet some terrible, impending, and very plausible and probable doom. The writer J. R. R. Tolkien coined the word by affixing the Greek prefix eu, meaning good, to catastrophe, the word traditionally used in classically inspired literary criticism to refer to the ‘unraveling’ or conclusion of a drama's plot.”
- Wikipedia
When all hope is lost, the unexpected appearance of goodness is at the heart of the meaning of eucatastrophe. It is also at the heart of every great story and the beautiful and poignant way the Divine often shows up in our story. This is one of the hallmarks of living a life with God. Oswald Chambers says that it is an obvious “tell” to whether we are living this way.
“Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness, it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God and do the duty that lies nearest, He packs our life with surprises all the time.”
Ironically, I came to understand that Christianity was all about having it all figured out. Knowing absolutes and having the “right” answer and understanding of all things. It translated to a need to “be” right which naturally helped me identify who was wrong. It allowed me to be the arbiter or judge of all things.
But sadly, it was not only a faithless proposition, it was completely the opposite of the life Jesus modeled for us to live. By those who count such things, it is said that:
Jesus was asked 187 questions,
but answered only 3 questions.
And he asked 307 questions.
It seems like he was far more interested in discovery, mystery, and walking with God toward an answer instead of arriving at the answer. It was a journey into uncertainty, wrapped by deep faith. It laid the foundation for stories where the answer is found just in the nick of time when all hope is lost.
“We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. His purpose is that I depend on HIM and in HIS power NOW. His end is the process. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.”
As we entered the year, we prayed for advance words. We received some precious ones that have taken on even greater meaning as the year has unfolded, but the word that everyone on our team received during this exercise was “abide”: walk with him.
We are not trying to figure everything out or be particularly concerned that we don’t have all the answers. We still made plans, revised our vision, and got to work, but there was walking with him and a good bit of uncertainty that has filled our lives with blessed uncertainty. And it has marked our steps in increasingly glorious directions.
We are experiencing a life full of surprises. In fact, we couldn’t have written a story this good and are finding that eucatastrophe is what life with God often looks like.
Consider
Are you waiting for the next shoe to drop?
Or are you believing in the eucatastrophe offered in a life with God?
Are your days filled with ascending fear or breathless expectation?