Curious George made my kid cry.
Many years ago, my family checked out the animated movie about everyone’s favorite monkey to watch as part of our weekly Family Night. At that stage in our family’s life, we had to carefully discern which shows we watched as one of our children was quite sensitive. If the music in a movie turned to a minor key and the situation became even the slightest bit perilous, my little one would start to whimper and then cry, “I don’t want to watch anymore! Can I go to another room?â€
But we had read reviews that indicated Curious George would be safe. So, we popped the popcorn, sat down as a family, and then… (despite our pre-planning), it happened again: the Unknown Moment.
You know the Moment I am talking about. It’s that moment in the movie when you don’t know how the story could possibly work itself out because the situation seems so impossible.
The Unknown Moment that treated my son’s emotions like a pinball was when George ended up on a ship all alone. My kiddo couldn’t take it. We paused the movie, and within seconds, my five-year-old was wailing into Mom’s arms, trapped inside the emotions of the Unknown Moment.
You’ll be glad to know that after some grace-covered discussion and offers to stop the movie, our little one chose to finish the movie. And the tears turned to joy as (spoiler alert!) George was reunited with his friend, the Man with the Yellow Hat.
However, our story isn’t done. The next day, before we had to return the movie, my kiddo asked to watch the movie again. And on the second viewing there were no tears. In fact, there wasn’t even a whimper. Why? Because the end of the story was known!
I think this is how the majority of people who grew up in Church read the Bible. They’ve heard the stories. They know the end. And so, there are no Unknown Moments. It’s like a second viewing for them.
But to the men and women who lived the stories we read in Scripture, the moment was very unknown. As they faced an un-parted Red Sea, or a den of lions, or an mocking giant, or a storm threatening to topple their boat, or the reality that their Messiah was dead, they would have been like my five-year-old: confused, fearful, and wanting to cry into Mommy’s arms. All they knew was that the Moment was here, and they didn’t see how it could possibly resolve.
And yet, they did see the resolution. They experienced the escape. The saw the storm stilled. They witnessed a resurrected Jesus. And like my little one, they found great joy when the Unknown Moment became known.
I suspect you are all too aware of the emotions a dark Unknown Moment brings. If you’ve been through a job search, or wondered if you’ll ever be truly loved, or questioned whether an adult child would ever return, or feared for the future of the business you started, or fought for your health, or wondered if your loved one would ever leave the hospital, you know the range of emotions embedded in the Unknown Moment.
But the same God who oversaw the Unknown Moments of history also oversees the Unknown Moments of your present. So let me ask you: Where is your trust placed? Is it placed in yourself? Your abilities? Your circumstance? Your past? Another person?
Or is it placed in God, the one who “raised [Christ] from the dead and gave Him glory� (1 Peter 1:21)
The most memorable stories are those where the Unknown Moments seemed impossible, where there seemed no escape in sight… and then it happened.
The rescue came. The breakthrough appeared. The Unknown Moment became known. And joy was the result.
While I can’t guarantee when or how your rescue will come, I do know the best One to trust through the Unknown. I also know that when He does come through, your tears will turn to joy, much like a five-year-old watching a curious monkey reunited with his best friend.
