Today, we’re encouraged to write our own story! We are told to set course for a destiny of our making. We are urged to take control and make something of our lives that counts. That’s a lot of pressure!
I think we should understand our lives a little differently. We aren’t the author of our lives. We are the main character of our lives. God is the author. He is writing our story. Why? Because if we wrote our own stories, we would miss out on so much.
Think with me for a moment about Job. Job is that guy in the Old Testament that got a whole book written about his story. And most of us might remember that it’s not a happy-go-lucky story. It is a story about struggle, suffering and hardship. Job and his story is the source of the phrase “patience of Job.” And we all know that we don’t need patience unless things are going wrong.
So, if Job wrote his own story, how would his story have been different?
* His children wouldn’t have been crushed to death by a building that fell over in a storm.
* His flocks wouldn’t have been plundered by marauders.
* His body wouldn’t have collapsed into a scab-covered mass of oozing flesh on a pile of ash.
* His wife wouldn’t have told him to give up and die.
* His friends wouldn’t have spent all their time arguing with him about how bad he must be for God to do this to him.
I’m convinced that Job, like me would never choose these things for himself. But, if Job had written the story, there are a few things he would have missed out on.
* He wouldn’t have experienced a face-to-face intimacy with the Creator of the Universe.
* He wouldn’t have understood God’s greatness.
* He wouldn’t have come to understand that God’s blessings are gifts of grace, they’re not earned by human effort.
* He wouldn’t have known the joy of complete transformation and restoration.
And if God hadn’t written Job’s story for us?
* We wouldn’t know that He will comfort us in hardship.
* We wouldn’t know that God never leaves us when things go wrong.
* We wouldn’t know that God is up to something big when things are impossible for us.
* We wouldn’t know that sometimes things go bad for good people.
* We wouldn’t know that we can always have the hope of transformation and restoration.
I think after all was said and done, Job was just fine with God writing his story. We should be too. Are you letting God write your story? Let’s just be a character who is faithful to the rich, life-giving script of a loving and gracious Author.
How is God writing your story? What events would you have omitted? Please comment to encourage others. And as always, please “share” this if it’s been an encouragement to you. Thanks!