Since humans walked the face of the earth, storytelling has been a part of our existence. There is something about storytelling that really resonates with us and speaks to us. Give us a bunch of facts and information and we switch off, but give us that same information in a story format and we’re captivated. Stories have been told across history, across continents and across decades in many formats and through many mediums. We’ve had the Egyptian hieroglyphics, writing on scrolls, performing plays, writing books, recording music, making motion pictures and finally to where we are today in the age of Hollywood and Netflix. Despite the changes in technology and the advancement of society, one thing has stayed constant throughout the ages, and has remained in some form across all nations and cultures - the power of a well written story.
I guess it’s no surprise that Jesus used parables to speak to the multitudes, and the Holy Spirit through men wrote the greatest book ever written, the best selling book of all time - the Bible.
Pastor White has always said that the book of the Acts of The Holy Spirit is still being written. That means that God is writing your story and my story today and recording it - I’m guessing in some gigantic super book in heaven, because that’s A-LOT of stories! When I read the stories in the Bible, I think about the author who wrote them. When we’re so invested in a story and the characters we forget that behind every book is an author. An author that is writing from their wisdom, their experience, their knowledge but mostly, their heart. I think about how Paul describes Jesus - the ‘AUTHOR and the FINISHER of our faith’. This gives me great confidence for my story and for your story because God is writing it - He has started it and He will finish it.
The best thing about God being the one to write your story is that He knows what’s coming. He sees the plot twists up ahead, He knows the mountains we will have to climb, the enemies we will have to overcome and He knows how to work it all together for your good and to accomplish his purposes. You may be in a situation where you feel like you’re more in a horror story than a fairy tale right now. Take courage in knowing this is only a chapter of your life and the ending hasn’t been written yet.
THE PLOT THICKENS
Have you ever picked up a book where the main character or protagonist had the perfect life? Nothing bad ever happened to them. They got everything they wished for and lived a happy, healthy and wonderful life. Probably not. That’s because that would make for a very boring and somewhat unrelatable story to read indeed! If you’ve ever noticed in books or movies, there is always drama…….drama, drama and more drama.
There is always a problem to be solved, a mountain to be climbed, an enemy to be overcome, a competitor to be outwitted. There is challenge, adventure, adversity and struggle. And of course my favourite - the rise of the underdog. Someone who against all odds achieves something great. In the face of adversity, they triumph. These types of stories are inspiring and encouraging and we all love these stories; except when we’re living them.
The reality of reading any story, is that there is a beginning, middle and end. By the time you get to the end of the book you can breathe a sigh of relief because everything worked out ok in the end. However for us, when we look at the story of our life right now, we don’t know how it ends for us, God is still writing our story. Maybe He’s at the beginning, maybe He’s somewhere in the middle - but for all of us living and breathing, He’s not yet at the end.
And sometimes we need that perspective, to understand that even those we read about in the Bible did not know how their story would end. They had no assurance that doing the right thing would pay off, that they would receive their promises or that God would come through for them. They simply had to have faith in the moment and keep moving forward. I personally love the story of Joseph. It’s one of my favourites because you just can’t make this stuff up - unless you’re God that is! Do you ever think that Joseph could have imagined his life becoming second in command of Egypt when he was thrown into the pit by his brothers? When he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife? When he was imprisoned for years without hope of escape? He could never have known the final outcome, that God would use his life to save the world. Joseph was a boy who had dreams. Big dreams. And I wonder at what moment that Joseph thought it was all over. It wasn’t possible anymore, not from the pit he was in. Not from the Prison he was in.
The reality is that every trial we face, every desert we cross, every valley experience we go through is all part of our story; His story. When we are the Davids facing the Goliaths of this world, we can’t see what’s on the other side; but we can trust our Author to write only the best story and to finish it in a way that brings Him glory and that works everything together for our good.
THE CHARACTER ARC
In a book you don’t have the luxury of seeing the characters physical appearance, or hearing their voice to be able to differentiate them from another character. So being able to express the personality of a character in writing through what is called their ‘voice’ can be quite tricky and this skill alone sets apart the good authors from the great.
Many authors who have written characters for books or screenplays, have often confessed to having some sense of connection or a sense of buy in to the characters they develop. They become invested in the characters, and feel a sense of pressure to give them a good ending and to do the characters justice. There is also a term called a ‘character arc’. This is an expression used to explain the transformation that a character goes through during the story. The character may begin a certain way, but through the up’s and down’s they go through in the story, by the end they are changed. A prime example of this is the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge. When we first meet Ebenezer at the beginning of the story, he is unkind, miserable and tight. He experiences a lot of things which in the end turns him into a kind, generous soul who wants to help others.
I submit to you that as our author, God has a vested interest in us and our characters. God’s aim in our lives is to conform us to the image of His Son, to make us more like him. The ups and the downs of our story, the mountain top and the valley experiences, all make us into the character that God wants us to be. He takes us as slaves and makes us sons, He takes us as shepherd boys and makes us Kings, He takes us as prisoners and makes us Prime Ministers. Each chapter is necessary and has its place in the final book. If you ever happened to open a book and read a random chapter in the middle of the story, I can guarantee it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. However, when you read the book cover to cover, each chapter has a purpose and contributes in some way to whole book. Only in light of the finished story, can you understand the importance of each chapter.
You may also notice that the pages of your life look nothing like the story of the person sitting next to you. And that’s because God knows each of us so personally, He knows what we need, what it will take, what will be beneficial to conforming us to the image of his Son. Sometimes we look over our neighbour’s fence and think ‘if only I was fighting that battle instead of mine, I would be victorious’. But God chose David to fight Goliath, He chose Jonah to go to Nineveh, He chose Mary to birth the Son of God and He chooses you to fight your battles.
THE PURPOSE IN PLOT TWISTS
Have you ever thought about a life where you didn’t need healing, you didn’t need deliverance, you didn’t need financial breakthrough? Because to some of us that sounds like a pretty great life. But I’ve thought a lot about this: if we didn’t need any of these things, would we even need God? I often think about the parallels of parenting and our relationship to Father God. As a parent, very often we want to be wanted. We want to be the ones to be able to provide for our kids, give them the things they desire, help them when they need. There is a connection that creates a bond between parent and child, where we want to be their source.
I think this is how God feels about us. He wants us to want Him and to need Him and He wants to show us His love by the things he can do for us, that no one else can. To provide for us in ways no one else can provide. To truly fulfil us in ways we cannot be fulfilled by anyone or anything.
A few months back I was reading about Lazarus and Mary and Martha. I was quite taken by the way John describes the relationship between Jesus and these three siblings. There was a personal closeness, friendship and intimacy in their relationship that was not the same as some of those in the multitudes that followed Jesus. I looked up a commentary about this passage because I was intrigued and wanted to learn more. In the commentary I read, there was one point that really stood out to me. The commentator was highlighting that because Lazarus and Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus, He wanted to do more for them. Everyone who came to Jesus was healed. People that followed Him simply for the free food or for the miracles, they received healing. Jesus could have simply healed Lazarus, but He didn’t. Because He wanted to do more for His friends than He did for the strangers. He wanted to show them the depth of his love and the magnitude of his power.
Everyone wants to be the ones to receive their dead back to life, but no one wants the death. Mary and Martha didn’t know that Lazarus was going to be raised to life. They were in anguish and bitterness of soul, mourning for their brother. They had no promise or assurance that things would work out. Miracles are called miracles for a reason. The circumstances have to be impossible, unfathomable, outside of the realm of human intervention. We all love the sound of the miracle, but are we willing to live where only miracles exist - in the impossible.
We have to know that God delights to prove himself to us. But sometimes the only way He can show us the light, is when we’re in the dark. The pit and the prison were both necessary parts of Joseph’s story but oh do they make the palace ending all the better!
THE POWER OF YOUR STORY
I believe that one of the reasons that storytelling has survived the ages is because sometimes it’s through the stories of others, God illuminates His truth to us. Like the prophet Nathan speaking to King David about the two men with the sheep. King David identified the issue with the ‘rich man’ in the story straight away, but he hadn’t been able to see that it was him. How easily we can see the truth about others and yet not always about ourselves. This is why the bible is such a great tool of the Holy Spirit, we read about the lives of others and God points the finger at us and says, “you’re the man!”. I wonder how God might then use your story to convict, inspire or encourage others?
My favourite type of movie is one that is based on a true story. You watch the movie through with all its drama and artistic license that they’ve taken; but then you get to the end. Before they start showing the credits, you see the photos of the real people come onto the screen with their names and family members. And you think - wow this really happened, this was someone’s actual life and what they went through. These types of stories can be very powerful and inspiring because you realise that this really happened, it wasn’t a story made up by Hollywood, but people really lived this. They went through the highs, and the lows and they came out the other side.
People are drawn to other people’s stories because we are connected through shared experiences. Your story may not be the exact same as someone else, in fact you may have come from completely different circumstances. But we all feel emotions, we all know what it’s like to be let down, to be hurt, to be abandoned or rejected. Your story and your testimony can be so powerful and inspiring for others in the same way. What you go through in your daily walk with Jesus will most likely not been the same detail for detail, but people can relate to and understand the highs and lows, ups and downs, the triumphs and tragedies.
This is where opening up to sinners or strangers about our life and our story can be so powerful. When you open up to people and become vulnerable, people will in turn let down their guard and open their heart to receive what you have to say. They can see it’s coming from a place of genuineness and openness and will accordingly respond. After all, isn’t that what the gospel really is? A beggar telling another beggar where to find bread? Our testimony is simply our story - how we met Jesus and how he changed us forever and how they can meet him too.
Today you may find yourself lost in a chapter of uncertainty, afraid of the future or unsure of your place. Know this: God is the author of your story and He will complete it to His glory and for your good. It’s not over until the last chapter is written. There may be plot twists in life, but know that if you cannot trace God’s finger, you can trust His heart. His heart is to show you his love and his power, even if it’s in the fiery furnace, the lion’s den or Pharaoh’s dungeon. And when you come out the other side remember to share your story, to glorify God and to encourage others. As per the 1965 movie, the gospel truly is ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’.
Happy reading x
“Your heartache is someone else’s hope. If you make it
through, somebody else is going to make it through.
Tell your story.” - Kim McManus