If God invited you into the same circumstances as Tamar, what would you think? How would you feel? As Matt Odum preached about Tamar and Judah, all I could think about was how messed up this whole story was. It sounded like a story perfect for 2020. Something you would read about next week and probably just shrug at or roll your eyes. Yet, it happened thousands of years ago to teach us more about God and His Love. Definitely, a story perfect for 2020.

Despite the wackiness of Tamar’s situation, God still saw Tamar as lovely. He saw her as strong and resourceful; a woman forgotten by the world, but not by Him. As Matt Odum said, “God loves really messy people.” Her backstory was not to be admired by anyone and God still used her for redemption. She was always a part of His story. She was always going to be in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Tamar’s messiness never stopped God from loving her and inviting her to be a part of His work.

Although, her life was a mess and her actions were sinful, we are invited to read her story and look inwardly at our own lives. We may have similar stories to Tamar or we might not. But I imagine many of us have found ourselves in situations where we wished things had turned out differently. This season is probably one of them.

What I challenge you with, though, is to look at this season in the bigger picture, as a part of God’s story. We might not know what the future will look like and how this season will ultimately shape us as individuals and the world collectively, but we can hold on to the hope that this wasn’t a mistake and that God is using this season to show us more of Himself.

~Chelsea Warren