Each of our lives is telling a story. There’s the one we think we are telling, and the one actually being told. No matter what story we have led ourselves to believe we are telling, the way we live will tell the truth about who we are. God is the Author and Creator of all life, but He has given us the freedom to write our own story. What story we tell is up to us.
We can’t dictate every circumstance, but we can decide how we respond to whatever comes our way. The trouble is, we tend to not be able to see the forest for the trees. We tell ourselves our life is telling one story, when in truth, it is saying nothing of the sort.
People love stories. We’re fascinated by a well-spun tale. The best stories allow us to imagine ourselves the hero or heroine. They take us to another place, and we get lost within the magic. Life should be this way. More specifically, our story should be this way. It should be one in which we’d love to imagine ourselves. God has gifted each of us with everything we need to live an amazing life, to tell a fantastical story. Jesus Himself said He came not only to give us life, but an amazing and full life (John 10:10).
If your life isn’t telling the story you want it to, you can change it this very moment. God has handed us the pen with which we can craft our story. There is a story He desires our lives to tell, but we’ve been given the creative license to craft it however we see fit. Now, I will caution you, the author of all things cannot be outdone. The story He envisioned for us will be the finest we can tell. The best we can aspire to do is to sprinkle some surprising adjectives throughout, to personalize our own story.
There is a dark side to our creative freedom. Should we decide the story He outlined for us doesn’t suit, we can write something of our own creation. Make no mistake, there are two very influential authors in this universe. While on the one side God desires to show you the magnificent story arc He created just for you, Satan is on the other side with his own sinister design. While God has crafted a story of light and love, Satan tries to fool us into living a story of darkness, greed, selfishness, and pride.
Ultimately, the story we tell comes down to whose plan we choose to follow. The way we live each day writes a new page in our story. Every year closes another chapter. Before we know it, our story has gone so far in a particular direction we may find it difficult to turn it another way. By the grace of God, it is never too late to change our story. While we can’t rewrite what has already been written, we can begin a new page today. We can reverse our direction. We can change our life. The way we live determines the story we tell. What’s your story?