STORIES

 One of the reoccurring themes in my life is stories.  Perhaps you have to live a LONG life to finally understand we are all living our stories.     I have posted in the past about not repeating things which are NOT OUR STORIES TO TELL.  What does that mean?  The one who is living the story should be the only teller.  It bears repeating the age old game of "Whispering Secrets" is the exact reason we should not be out repeating something we might hear down the gossip chain .  A line of people have a "secret" whispered beginning with the first person down the line---from the beginning to the end-----by the end of the line---the secret is often distorted or does not even resemble what the original whisperer said.  One of the rules of working in a bank was in case of robbery---DO NOT COMPARE NOTES on what the robber looked like---tell it once and only once to the authorities.  Why---because we can be heavily influenced by someone else and collaborating will often lead to a distortion of the facts.  We are not trustworthy to not be influenced by others.  




I recently heard a sermon by a pastor who had been on a college mission trip.  During this trip, he heard over and over--when one of the young adults was giving their testimony that this was NOT their story, but God's Story.  I have spent the morning mulling this over.  How often we all take the "pat on the back", the fame, the glory associated with our lives, BUT how often are we looking to blame someone else for our failures.  Blame shifting--one of the original sins---rears its ugly head when we are presented with the facts of our misses.  We want to squarely lay the blame on anyone else---not owning up to our part---which requires repentance (a subject for another day).  If we are living our lives for God---then should not God be reflected in our actions?  We are quick to beg Him to take the wheel when things are going wrong, but want all the glory if things are going well.  This  begs us all to look at ourselves and closely examine whether we have truly turned our stories over to God.  NOW THAT WILL CAUSE YOU TO SPEND SOME TIME THINKING.  I dare say I am more than a little disappointed in what I see in myself.  I really desire to be able to answer--this is not my story--but God's story.  That will only happen when I truly turn it all over to Him.  I have done that very thing--only to grab that control back when the seas are smooth.  A sad commentary--but He is a God who loves us enough to give us chance after chance.  The road to sanctification is truly God's story---we only need to recognize His sovereignty and give HIM the glory.

"Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who made us,

and not we ourselves;

we are His people 

and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

and His courtyards with praise."

Psalm 100:3-5


1 comment

  1. We are only characters in God's story for our lives, Lulu. We can't take the credit for what we've done that's good, nor should we shift the blame when we've done something wrong. Let us confess our sins to God and give Him thanks and praise for all He has done for us.
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!