God is a storyteller.
Today’s reading: Psalm 78:4
Do you know someone who is really good at telling stories? Someone who can make the most mundane situation seem like something that you’re bummed to have missed? We can all probably think of at least one person who uses drama, humor, and suspense in ways that allow them to tell really good stories. It’s why novels, films, and plays are so intriguing to us. When someone tells a story in a way that’s deeper than just simply providing entertainment, it can move us and make us share their emotion in a powerful way.
God always was and always will be the greatest storyteller. It’s why he asked so many people to record stories throughout history and inspired them to combine all of these accounts into what we know today as the Bible. The accounts of various people, places, and circumstances throughout history are God’s way of telling a continuous story of his love and redemption.
The different authors of the books of the Bible wrote during a variety of life stages, circumstances, classes, social settings, and periods of history. Each one may have told a specific story of a specific person or time period, but they always tied back to God’s love for his people.
King David wrote countless Psalms to encourage his soul and many other authors wrote about David’s great faith despite his imperfections. Paul wrote a third of the New Testament, most of it from a prison cell, to tell the story of how God redeemed him on a road to Damascus and how generations of Christians after him could experience the goodness of God for themselves. Luke was a doctor who followed Jesus and the apostles around in order to document their stories of miracles, healings, and love for Christ. John was an apostle who was eventually exiled to the Island of Patmos as a prisoner and received a revelation from God to write about the future of the Church for generations to come. God used all of these ordinary people of their time, and so many more, to tell his people’s stories to encourage the Church and set up a narrative that tied every detail together to tell the ultimate story of his love.
The authors of the Bible never shied away from telling the ugly truth or the not-so-pretty parts of their story. God knew that humanity was fallen and imperfect. He never intended for anyone to write a story that said otherwise. What good would that be to the billions of imperfect, broken people who would come after the Bible was written? God inspired everyone to write the complete, messy, beautiful story he had given them. It’s why his love saturates each verse of Scripture in a way that leads us closer to his pure and perfect heart.
This week, we are going to talk about how God writes a story for each of our lives and how we can share that story for his glory and the good of others. Even if you don’t believe you’re one of those people who are naturally good at telling stories, we are going to work through some practical ways to share your story. Your story has the potential to show the same love of God that so many storytellers throughout history devoted their time to documenting for us.
Use the PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) acronym to spend time in prayer.
What do you think makes a good storyteller?
Can you see how God is writing a story in your life?
