by Jared Gallardo

Comebacks are exciting! We’ve all seen movies about people that overcome impossible odds. Disney has made a fortune with movies like “Mulan”, a story about a girl from a rural village transforming into a formidable warrior. What makes her story so interesting? Well...she wasn’t born a warrior. Before she reached heroic status, she went through an identity crisis, completed boot camp, and fought in brutal combat. It seems like every Disney movie does that – They show a person’s journey from pain to power.

Much like Disney movies, the Bible is bursting at the seams with comebacks. Genesis 37-50 tells a story about an average person named Joseph who falls into pain and rises to power. In short, his family betrayed him, and his boss got him thrown into prison, but luckily the story doesn’t end there. He makes friends with the king who gives him leadership “over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:41), and his family begins healing from their broken past. Whether Joseph was with his family, being trafficked, working, talking to the King, or working out family drama, God was with him. Even in prison, “the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love...” (Genesis 39:21). Like a flash flood, God’s love rushed into Joseph's pit of despair.

And that is the key to comeback - God’s transformative love in the midst of overwhelming grief.

Happy New Year.

Jared Gallardo

PS: Join us this Sunday at 10:30am on Facebook Live, You Tube Live, the website www.wacathedral.org or on the church app. Pastor Tim will be speaking on “The Great Comeback” as he continues the series “Have Fun in 2021.”