I live five miles off of the main road down a two lane highway that is curves and hills and there is no where to pass.  Occasionally, I get behind this red truck on my way into work.  Now I don’t know the man who drives this truck, but as I know that when I get behind my drive to work is screeching to a near halt.  My normal pace of *cough* 55-mph is now at top speed 20-mph.  So what do I do I assign a story to this man.  I’ve named him Farmer Joe.  He is retired.  He is heading to the coffee shop in town to catch up with his retired buddies to solve all of the world issue from religion to political.  He has nothing better to do today besides drive 20-mph (at top speed).  As I have drove behind him on the way to work and made up a whole story for Farmer Joe.  I thought about how many times in life we do this.  We assign a story to fill in the gaps.  We assign a story to the stressful situations to make it easier to process.  We assign stories to the disappointed places.  Why this happened, why they did this, why I did that, and what it all means.  We assign a story in the midst of the misunderstood tone in a text message.  We assign stories to the absence.  We assign a story to the loss.  We assign stories in the disappointment.  We assign stories to the distant friend.  We assign stories everywhere.  We also assign stories to God and His plans.   When things go crazy, we assign a story.  When things look bleak, we assign a story.  When things don’t go the way the “normal” way, we assign a story.  We add to the story.  We insert our interpretations, like when Eve says “you must not even touch that tree, or you will die”.  Oooops, thats not exactly what God said.   We assign and add to what God says about us.  What if everyday we just followed what He had for us.  How much more peace and joy would fill our lives.  Oh how wonderful it would be to never take our eyes off of Him.  The author and perfecter of our faith, the one who has already assigned the beginning and end of our stories.

We are not those terrible thoughts that plague our minds.

We are not our past.

We are not that pattern we want to fall into because it feels comfortable and safe.

We are not our flesh.

We are not that discouragement.

We are not that disappointment.

We are not that anger that rattles us to our core.

You are a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Cor 5:17

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14

God is our strength and ever present help in times on need.  ie: discouragement, disappointment, pain, shame, delay, crisis, etc.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah” Psalm 46:1-3

Friends lets grab hold of that today.  Grab hold of the writer of the story.  Lets focus on the one who has written the story and allow Him to lead and guide and assign the stories and details and moments of our lives.

AP