The Author of Your Story
I love telling stories. Creating story worlds and adventures and walking characters through rough circumstances to see them conquer the enemy as well as their own fears is exciting. Through writing a fictional story, I can process my own thoughts, fears, and emotions and grow.
Sometimes I try to write my own life story. I imagine where I’ll be in ten years and expect life to go exactly as I’ve envisioned. It turns out, my imagination does not turn into reality. The story I imagined included having my life together by 16, getting married by 18, and never stepping foot in college. Instead, I’m and finishing up my psychology degree, working in children’s ministry, wrestling with anxiety, and wondering what the future will hold. I imagined growing out of experiencing migraines, but instead I’m still hit with headaches that rearrange my entire day’s schedule and leave me frustrated. My story hasn’t turned out much like I envisioned it at all (and I’m only in my 20’s).
It’s easy to forget that God is in control of my story instead of me. It’s hard to surrender my life’s dreams, even the silly ones. I ask a lot of what-ifs and wonder whether surrender means that God will ask big things of me that I cannot handle.
As I’ve been pondering this idea of God writing my story, I’ve thought a lot about the similarities between writing a novel and surrendering to God’s plan for me. Here’s a few things I’m learning:
1: God is writing our life stories, and His story is good.
In Genesis 1, we see creation spoken into existence, and Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus is “The author and perfector” of our faith. God is the master storyteller, writing the history of the universe and the details of our individual lives according to His good plan. One beautiful promise we are given in Philippians 1:6 tells us “that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God does not leave the story unfinished, a half-baked rough draft shoved into a drawer never to be opened again. God will finish His good work in us. As a writer (and a reader), I’m not a fan of stories without happy endings. But often we get to the happy endings through trials. And I think our desire for happy endings in stories comes from knowing that God’s story of the universe has a happy ending (and we can know ahead of time about this ending thanks to the book of Revelation). The moments of struggle are the refinement the hero needs in a book in order to defeat the enemy. Similarly, our struggles are not wasted; they are a part of God’s good work being perfected in us.
2: The Author has a plan.
The Bible shows many times where God’s people asked why He was writing plot twists into the story. The Israelites probably asked a lot of hard questions when Babylon conquered them. This was God’s message to Judah:
10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NASB)
Seventy years of captivity was probably not in anyone’s imagination of the future. But God promised that He had a plan, and this was a plan of hope. God used captivity to call the Israelites back to Himself—they would return, pray, and seek Him wholeheartedly, and God would restore them from exile.
Paul had a thorn in the flesh that wasn’t in his plan for his story. He wrestled with God over this thorn because, to Paul, it was a hinderance to his gospel mission. But God’s story was different:
8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10
God received the greater glory through Paul’s weakness rather than taking away this thorn. Instead of having an easy path for spreading the gospel, Paul faced numerous obstacles and trials. But those trials made his ministry more effective.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
When I’m in the middle of a plot twist, it is hard to lean on God’s understanding. But if God used captivity to bring Judah back to Himself and weakness to further Paul’s ministry, then I can trust that God will be faithful in my story to lead me closer to Him. Someday, whether later in this life or in eternity, I will be able to look back at all the twists and turns of life and see that God really did make my path straight.
3: Surrender to the Storyteller
Being the author means that I have control over where the story heads. I know where my characters are going and have a plan for how to get them there. But being the character in God’s story means I don’t see what the next chapter holds. I’m not in control. Instead, God calls me to surrender to His plan for me. As a believer, Christ has called me to take up my cross and follow Him, to lose my life in order to save it (see Luke 9:23-24). I’ll be honest—this is hard. I’m far from perfect at taking up my cross to follow Jesus. I’m much better at asking why I should carry something heavy instead of skip alongside Jesus. Asking why the trials in my life seem harder than so-and-so’s. Asking why God has given me more than I feel like I can handle when all of the popular Christian motivational songs say that God won’t do that.
But then I think of Jesus. The cross He faced. The fact that He literally sweated drops of blood over going to the cross. I think of His surrender to His Father.
42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42
Jesus took the true burden, the weight of our sins, upon Himself so that we would no longer have to carry the impossible task of saving ourselves. The cross of following Jesus may be big, but His burden is light because He carries it with us. Whatever dilemma or disaster we walk through is walked through with Jesus.
It’s easy to ask what-if about the future or why about present struggles. I want to encourage you all and myself to remember the promises of God whenever these questions arise. Yes, ask God your questions because He isn’t afraid of them. But also remember His goodness, His unfailing word, His amazing love for you.
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
Trust the Author, friend. His plan for us is beyond anything that we can hope or imagine.
With love,
Kelsey
