The Whole Story: Eternity from the Beginning

By Meredith Perryman

Is the gospel still good news?

In the midst of heartbreak, uncertainty, and days that are overfull but unfullling, it can be easy to wonder what good the gospel is for life today. Sure, there's the promise of eternal life someday, but what about right now, when disease, broken relationships, shame, regret,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Courageous Heart Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9781950714315

Book preview

The Whole Story

The Whole Story

MEREDITH PERRYMAN

Courageous Heart Press

The Whole Story

© 2023 by Meredith Perryman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing by the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. For information regarding permission, contact the publisher at [e-mail].

This book is available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for use as premiums, promotions, fundraisers, or for educational purposes. For inquiries, visit meredithperryman.com/contact.

Published by Courageous Heart Press

College Station, Texas

In partnership with

The Freeone

Editing and Design by My Writers’ Connection

Title Illustration by McKenna Ryan

Figures by Angela Robinson

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the King James Version (KJV): King James Version, public domain.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.

NIV—THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV—The Holy Bible, New International Version®, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023947272

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-950714-30-8

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-950714-29-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-950714-31-5

First Printing: October 2023

For Sibyl Slocomb, my grandmother, whom we affectionately called Mom-Mom.

Thank you for sowing faithful prayers all your life. You are greatly missed, but your legacy remains strong.

Contents

Foreword

Author’s Note

Chapter 1: Hindered

Chapter 2: Hungry for More

Creation

Chapter 3: Created for Relationship

Chapter 4: Created for His Presence

Chapter 5: Created with a Calling

The Fall

Chapter 6: From Blessed to Cursed

Redemption

Chapter 7: God’s Rescue Plan

Chapter 8: Renewing Hope

Moses and David

Chapter 9: Waiting with Hope

Chapter 10: Expectancy vs. Expectations

Restoration

Chapter 11:

God’s Plan for the Church

Chapter 12: Holding on to Hope

The Church Age

Chapter 13: The Kingdom to Come

Chapter 14: Are You Ready to Live Unhindered?

Acknowledgments

Resources

Notes

About the Author

Foreword

Do you know that feeling of surprised delight that comes when you put on a new pair of eyeglasses for the first time? Suddenly, you can see things you didn’t even realize were there before. Or maybe you remember seeing an old black-and-white movie that had been updated in Technicolor and saw the story come to life in new and colorful ways. As you encounter the message in the pages ahead, I believe a similar kind of experience is available to you.

More than twenty years after Jesus radically changed my life, I heard Meredith deliver this message. I thought I already saw in color, but as I began to see in a new way through the lens of the full gospel—the whole story—everything became more vibrant. As a follower of Jesus, and as someone who desires to live on mission, I can honestly say that the truth revealed in The Whole Story has absolutely and radically transformed the ways I think, live, and lead. The more I read and learn from Meredith, the more I understand God’s plan to restore and expand His kingdom in us and throughout the earth.

I have had the privilege of partnering together with Meredith as she teaches thousands of men and women in various settings. Each time, I learn something new and feel blessed to watch people’s amazing ah-ha moments as they see the gospel in new ways for themselves.

My prayer is that as you read The Whole Story, you, too, will be able to see and experience the gospel in a way that is fuller and more vibrant than you’ve previously understood it to be. I encourage you to read this book again and again. Underline passages that surprise and perhaps challenge you to think differently about God’s story and His plan for you. Tag pages for future reference. Share what you discover. Above all, allow the Holy Spirit to use this book and God’s Word to change you. As it has for me, I pray this message releases you in a new way to be a part of God’s heart of Restoration.

Stephanie Lee

Founder and Director of You Are, Inc.

youareconference.com

Author’s Note

During a challenging season of life, when I began to question the goodness of God and the gospel, I turned to the living and breathing Word of God for truth and clarity. I also sought out the teachings and inspiration from giants in the faith who have gone before me. In writing this book, I am humbly standing on their shoulders.

I am not a Bible scholar. Instead, what I am is a grateful student on a journey of learning. Contained in these pages is a compilation of what I learned from scholars, teachers, and authors during my time of searching and questioning. Some of their teachings have become so ingrained in me that, honestly, where their words end and mine begin has become a bit fuzzy. It’s my desire, however, to give credit where it is due. To the best of my ability, I have searched for and noted original sources. Sincere apologies for anything I have missed.

Chapter 1

HINDERED

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

HEBREWS 12:1–2A, NIV

My life rested on a stool supported by four sturdy legs. They upheld my life securely enough that I barely paid them any mind—until each one came crashing down.

At thirty-eight, and having attended church most of my life, I considered myself to be a seasoned believer. For well over a decade, I had been a Bible study participant, even a Bible teacher. I had attended countless conferences, read tons of devotional and theology books, and participated in various small groups for years. You know, seasoned:

Seasoned — see’zund (adj): I’m a grown-up and don’t have to be in church but choose to be. I can tell you a few things I believe the Bible says with confidence; I raise my hands when I worship; I pray out loud in groups, etc.

I felt secure, as if nothing could throw my walk with God significantly off course. Then, one by one, the things I thought were solid, crumbled. The four legs of my life’s stool gave way and sent me crashing into a dark and lonely place.

The first leg of my stool to fall was my church family. Having moved from Houston after starting a family, God led us to a church we loved in our new hometown. We rooted ourselves there deeply. My husband and I participated in an Adult Bible Fellowship class, and we eventually taught and served in different ministry areas.

This church had been our home for seven years when an ugly division tore it apart. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a scandal that caused the damage, but disagreements and misunderstandings. A sad, rapid escalation of disunity ensued. Within three months, the church fired two pastors. Three others resigned. During that time, I witnessed betrayal and slander that never would have been permissible in a secular work environment. The painful ordeal shattered my trust as I experienced firsthand that churches aren’t always places of ministry and healing. Sometimes, regretfully, they are places of abuse and anguish.

The next leg to give way was my marriage. My husband began traveling for work and was home only a few days a month. A few days a month! (Mad props to military families and single moms and dads!) We had always been a team, but I suddenly felt very much on my own. While I spent my days and nights at home with four young children, he sent me selfies from Australia. It seemed my phone would ding right when I was in the middle of mopping up a sewage leak that had flooded our house, taking care of a kid who had vomited all night, or visiting the veterinary ER at midnight with two dogs who had gotten into a huge bag of chocolate chips. All I could think in those moments was, no honey, I don’t want to see a picture of the Sydney Opera House again or of the incredible meal you’re enjoying—that you didn’t have to cook! My husband and I were living completely different lives. His was exciting and interesting, and mine felt lonely and utterly overwhelming.

Then the friendship leg of my stool crumbled. Out of nowhere and with no explanation, one of my core, do-life-with friendships ended. My children referred to this friend and her husband as aunt and uncle and to their kids as cousins. We went from talking every day and regularly getting our families together to having absolutely no contact. I reached out through repeated calls and texts, attempting to understand what had happened, but my friend refused to respond. The gut-wrenching loss left me and my family wondering what was going on—and why.

The last leg to fail was my identity. During this season of upheaval, my family required every moment of my life and demanded every ounce of my energy. At the end of the day, I had nothing left to give. Unable to keep up with the never-ending list of responsibilities that each day brought, I stepped down from directing and teaching the Bible study I had been involved in for almost a decade. It was the best decision for me and our family at the time; one I still do not regret, but the sudden disengagement of going from leading the Bible study to not participating in it at all left a void. I had grown accustomed to spending time with the group weekly and devoting hours to preparation. I missed having the support of that community, and I missed spending time in God’s Word.

With the four legs of my stool in splinters, I experienced a tremendous loss of purpose and identity. Aside from being a mom of four and a wife to a husband who was rarely home, I didn’t know who I was. I questioned my value as a person, my worth in the community, and my place in the church. All the while, life for everyone else seemed to move along just fine without me.

IMPRISONED BY LIES

The depression I had fought after having children came back with a vengeance, sending me into darkness and separating me from hope.

I know now that those problems weren’t unique or insurmountable. And I knew even then that they weren’t comparable to the suffering many people endure. But the loss of my church family and a dear friendship, the long-distance disintegration of my marriage, and feeling a profound lack of purpose and identity—all at the same time—sent me tumbling into a desperate place.

Imprisoned by my thoughts and circumstances, I felt lonely and emotionally bruised. But I wasn’t completely alone. Circling the bars of my prison was someone who knew exactly what to do with my pain and confusion: Satan.

Our enemy doesn’t have any problem kicking us when we’re down. He actively searches for opportunities to deceive and isolate us—all to separate us from God and His community. 

Satan taunted me with doubts. Although I couldn’t see him, I could hear his relentless and brutal lies.

You can’t trust or count on the church.

Your heart isn’t safe with them. Neither is your family.

You thought you had a great marriage, didn’t you? But really, you can’t count on anyone but yourself.

You took a chance and opened up your heart to a friend, but when she got to know the real you, she saw that you are not worth knowing and not worth fighting for.

You don’t bring much to the table. She knows it. Everyone knows it.

You are a nobody and unworthy of being loved. God doesn’t want you, and neither does anyone else.

You do not belong, and you never will.

You cannot trust God with your life or with your heart. God won’t protect you.

Satan just wouldn’t stop! The deception continued until it was all I could hear. Before I realized what was happening, I accepted his words as truth. One by one, each lie became another bar in the prison that surrounded me.

Even in the darkness, I never doubted the reality of God.

I did, however, doubt His goodness. 

I loved God, but I didn’t like him very much because I felt betrayed and rejected by Him. 

Disillusioned and weary, I went through the motions of study and worship, but inside I felt dead and cynical. So cynical, in fact, when others would sincerely say (about someone who wasn’t a Christian), That person needs Jesus, all I could think was, why? How does having Jesus help you in this life? How does Jesus make this life better?

I mean, I had Jesus. But having Him didn’t take away the ache of loss and loneliness. And it sure didn’t prevent hardships or betrayals.

Trapped by depression, brokenness, and pain, I clung to the hope that someday I would leave this earth to live with Jesus. Only then would I be truly and forever free.

CRYING OUT FROM THE DARKNESS

Deep down, I knew something had to be wrong with my way of thinking. I knew, too, that I didn’t want to live my life cowering in a cage like a victim, while my conquered enemy whispered