The story I'll tell...

​          For the past few mornings or so, God has been waking me up with the song, “Storyteller” by Morgan Harper Nichols. It has really been an encouragement to me. It has me wondering about the story my life is telling. We can go through life so caught up with our responsibilities and issues and everyday living that we may not even realize that our life is telling a story to the world, that people are looking on and reading the pages of our life and that what they read can either encourage or discourage them, motivate or inspire them, turn them towards God or turn them away from Him...
         In the first verse, she talks about taking a trip down memory lane and as she turns each page of photographs she sees God’s faithfulness. I don’t know about you but that does something to me to be reminded of God’s faithfulness in every stage of my life. It reminds me actually of the poem, “Footprints,” where the poet, in the darkest times of his life felt as if God had abandoned him because he saw only one set of footprints in the sand. Yet, God had not abandoned him. In fact, He informed him that it was at those lowest times in his life that He had carried him. That’s God’s faithfulness in action. It can be so difficult to see or even feel God at our most painful and lonely moments yet He is there, silent maybe, invisible maybe, but very much there. And that’s the part of our story that we want to highlight, not just how terrible things were at those times but how faithful God was. 
         The chorus speaks about our mountain and valley experiences, our highs and lows and the fact that God is there for both. His Word says that all things work together for good for us His children (Romans 8:28). God knows how to bring good out of both the bad and good. In fact, He is able to create a beautiful story using both the good and the bad, the sorrow and the joy. I like to tell people that I thank God for the negative things in my life. He has taught me to be grateful not just for the good things that have happened in my life but for the bad as well. I am able to look back and see how those negatives have helped make me stronger, wiser, a vessel fit for His use. I never would be who I am today if everything in my life was perfect. None of us would. God certainly knows how to bring beauty out of ashes. 
         The second verse I choose to quote in part:
         There were some nights that felt like
         They would last forever
         But You kept me breathing
         You were with me right then...
Have you ever found yourself asking God, “God how long?” It seemed as if the challenge, the trial, the test would never end. You felt as if you wouldn’t survive, yet God kept you alive, He kept you going, He kept your head above water, so to speak, just when you felt as if you would drown. Yes, God was there, faithfully there, even when you felt that you couldn’t go another day in that situation and He helped you to survive, to face one more day in what at times seemed like hell. 
         We are living testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness. What story do you want your life to tell the world? What story is it telling now? Joseph went through a really tough time. He had lost his mother, was hated by his brothers and for several years in Egypt, faced one unfair situation after the next. Yet, God had a plan and years later his story is still being read and is a source of encouragement to many. What is encouraging is that he faced such unfair treatment, yet, it was all part of God’s plan to prepare him to become second in command to Pharaoh. He had to go through the pain he did; his character had to be molded and shaped to God’s standard so that he could fulfil his role in Egypt when that time came (Genesis chapters 37, 39-41). 
         No, we don’t like when negative things happen. But it’s all a part of our story, God’s story for our lives. So, what story is your life telling? When people open your book will they be inspired or turned off by what’s written on those pages? Will they be able to see God, ever-present and victorious in every situation or will they see a life devoid of God and filled with discouragement and defeat? The choice actually is yours. Your story can be one that points people to the God of hope and possibility in the face of impossible situations or it can be a story that focuses on hopelessness and despair, a life devoid of the God of hope. Yes, the choice is yours.
 
         If you have not asked Jesus to come into your life, I invite you to do so now. If you’re not satisfied with your story hand over your story to Him and allow Him to create a masterpiece worth reading!

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