How (not) to Save the World – Devotion Spotlight
I love a good story. Book, movie, play, or special speaker, I love it all. Some of my favorite stories are those about how God has helped people triumph over impossible odds – danger, illness, accidents, tragedy, bad life choices…overcomer stories set my heart on fire and fill me with hope. They are bold, amazing, and leave me praising God, and admiring the sharer for their courage, strength and faith.
But…ask me about my story and it seems pale in comparison. At least in my mind. Maybe you are like me, maybe you grew up in the church listening to these stories from the time you were small. I went to Christian schools, grew up in a loving home with great parents, and wasn’t ever much of a rebel. If anything, my version of rebellion was to read, all the time, instead of study. Testimony was a big word back then; one I didn’t feel like I measured up to.
In fact, I didn’t feel like I had much of a story at all until I grew up, in my faith and in experience. Even now I struggle to tell it. It is hard to bare your soul to strangers. The impulse to sugar coat parts is sometimes strong – to edit out the sticky parts, and make it short and sweet. Brief and amazing. God is good all the time, all the time God is good…right?
But I am learning that the sticky parts are where God’s faithfulness shines through the brightest. It is the sticky parts in our lives that encourage others the most. That in my weakness, His strength is greatest. He made me for a purpose. He made you for a purpose – a purpose uniquely designed for you before you were born. Now that’s a good story.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
I am a writer, and my story is in the messy middle. I recently left a career job of 20 years and moved across the country. I am exploring a new career potential while working part time and relying on the generosity of my family for a place to stay while I explore my options. I’m in my forties, single, never married, and never thought my story would be this way. It is kind of a scary place, and a humbling one – but I’ve seen God’s goodness, faithfulness and guidance in every step so far, especially in the difficult ones. He is there, even in the disappointments, struggles, rejections and roadblocks. He has been faithful in my past, He is faithful today, and He promises that I have a future with Him and that it is good.
Stories are messy. Life is messy, but God is good and He is faithful. So be brave and get out there. Pray for opportunity. Pick up that pen. Schedule that cup of coffee with a friend. Somewhere out there is someone who needs your words, to hear your story about God’s faithfulness in your life.