When God Leads You Down a Dead End

On April 21, 2019, VidAngel Studios released Season 1 of the groundbreaking streaming TV series The Chosen. It’s an extremely creative, compelling, and respectful portrayal of Jesus and his followers. If you have not yet seen this series, you should download the free The Chosen app or the Angel Studios app.

After viewing the first episode, Annette and I were thoroughly hooked. We learned in the fall of 2020 that the producers were inviting The Chosen’s fans and supporters to be extras for the Sermon on the Mount episode to be filmed in Dallas in February 2021. Annette and I jumped at the chance!

Each extra was responsible to make their own outfits. The producers sent very specific instructions, and Annette spent several weeks gathering the necessary materials. Because her sewing machine couldn’t handle the project, she even had to buy a new one. All told, she probably spent the better part of a week and close to $500 making the costumes.

Since the filming was right in the middle of Covid-19’s huge surge, all participants had to bring proof of a negative Covid test performed within 72 hours of arrival. Of course, we complied. But guess what? My test came back positive, so the whole thing was off. All that time and money was essentially wasted. Well not entirely. We have killer outfits if we ever have to go to a costume party 😊.

But still, it was a dead end.

This was not the first time a curveball brought what seemed to be a legitimate, God-led venture to a screeching halt. On two separate occasions, some ministry experts unexpectedly approached me about outreach opportunities they were convinced would have a big impact. Because these were unsolicited suggestions by people with proven track records, I overcame my initial skepticism and concluded these initiatives must be from the Lord.  Subsequently, I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours developing each concept.

In the end, they both fizzled and yielded virtually nothing. Dead ends.

How should I interpret these experiences? In all three cases, I felt God was leading me to pursue them. But if that were true, why would he lead me down extremely time-consuming dead ends? 

Of course, no one can read God’s mind. But I believe these experiences are part of our refinement and growth processes. Over the years, I have seen that God often does dramatic and even miraculous things for people when they first come to know Christ. Because his ultimate goal for us is to grow increasingly dependent on him and learn to trust him completely, at some point, he takes the training wheels off to see if we’re only following him because of his dramatic interventions.

This type of testing reveals how well you trust him even when things don’t make sense or go our way. It always helps when – in hindsight – you can look back to figure out what God was trying to accomplish through a confusing circumstance or a disappointment.

Perhaps the best-known example of God’s testing is the request he made of Abraham in Genesis 22.  Even though God promises he will give Abraham countless descendants through his son Isaac and Isaac was still a minor, God tells Abraham to kill him. That makes no sense. How could Isaac be the father of multitudes if he dies so young? Nevertheless, Abraham is willing to obey. But God stops him and even graciously explains what he was up to:  “Do not lay a hand on the boy. . . . Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your only son” (Genesis 22:12).

So, Abraham gets to see what God was really doing. By way of contrast, Job never gets any explanation for the calamities he faces. After Job complains for a couple of chapters about his crushing circumstances, God finally responds, but his answer is, essentially, “Who are you to question me?” That’s all he gets.

This shows that sometimes God gives us a peek behind the curtain, and sometimes he doesn’t. As I said, his ultimate goal is to teach us to trust him more and more. And he orchestrates the circumstances of our lives – including disasters and dead ends – to accomplish that.

Here are a few questions:

• Have you ever felt God led you down a dead-end road?

• If so, how did you react?

• After your initial disappointment, were you able to reach the point of ultimately being OK even if you were never able to understand the “why”?

A Must-See Streaming TV Series

According to answers.com there have been more than 1,000 movies made about Jesus. They range from blasphemous to spectacularly inspiring. Let me highlight a new TV series that deserves a spot at the very top of the list.

The Chosen is a brand-new, crowd-funded streaming TV series that debuted last year. The producers anticipate eight seasons.  Season 1 consists of eight episodes totaling about six hours, which cover just the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It would only take about 20 minutes to read aloud all the biblical passages covered in the first eight episodes. That leaves plenty of room for additional narrative. The producers are absolutely clear that they are presenting a fictional narrative, not a documentary, and certainly not Scripture. They create plausible backstories for many familiar characters including Nicodemus, Matthew, Mary Magdalene, and others. The writers don’t pretend that there is historical evidence for any of these made-up stories, but they have captured the both the spirit and heart of their subjects and the gospel message itself.

When evaluating the merits of any depiction of Jesus’ life, we must consider the two key issues:  how skilled the producers are at presenting their material and – most importantly – how accurately they portray Jesus. The Chosen clearly show Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God and, indeed, God himself. So, theologically, it is rock-solid.

Many other films and TV shows about Jesus are also theologically sound, but they often come up short in their artistry. One thing that sets The Chosen apart is its incredibly compelling, non-cheesy portrayal of Jesus’ humanity, the best I’ve ever seen. He is warm, friendly, funny, and completely human. He smiles, plays with children, and even jokes around a bit.

Here’s one of my favorite mildly comical scenes. As the disciples are about to depart on their first trip, Simon (Peter) tells Jesus that, as the only married follower, he’s concerned about the home front while he’s gone, especially since his mother-in-law is seriously ill. Jesus goes to Simon’s house and, in a private conversation with Simon’s wife, tells her that he sees her and recognizes her role in letting Simon accompany him. But first, Jesus says, he has a few things to take care of, signaling that, as a gift to her, he will heal her mother. Plus, he says, normal Simon is difficult enough. You think I want to travel with a worried Simon? He then rolls his eyes skyward and bursts into a warm smile. I love it. This is the compassionate, warm, divine Jesus I want to know!

The producers have cast their material in a believable, accessible way. Too many biblical epics, especially from the 1950s and 1960s are guilty of a highly stilted style, complete with – of all things – British accents and dreamy-eyed characters who seem to float through life in some semi-mystical state. That’s not where I live. By contrast, The Chosen anchors its story and characters firmly in real life in such a way that I feel am right there as the story unfolds.

Some may quibble over how the script fills in some of the gaps, and there are a few minor points I might have handled somewhat differently. But I assure you, my “heresy detector” didn’t go off a single time. Plus, you will fall in love with the divine and yet incredibly human Jesus all over again.

Get The Chosen app, watch this series, and share it with your Christian and not-yet-Christian friends. It succeeds on all levels:  dramatic, artistic, theological, and devotional. And consider helping fund future seasons.