Series: Your Story for God’s Glory. Week 1: How to Live a Better Story
We’re all obsessed with stories. We watch stories, constantly tell stories, and are drawn to stories.
There is so much power in a good story! Did you know that your life is telling a story?
You get the chance to tell a story with each day of your life.
Sure, we share highlights of our stories on Instagram, but it goes so much deeper than that. You are writing and creating stories with each decision within each day.
We are starting a new message series called “Your Story.” The whole point of this series is to recognize that you are a major part of God’s story for this world. He created you for a reason and placed you in your family, your community, and this moment for a purpose.
Here is my advice to you: Live a story worth telling!
Judges 6:1-15 Context of the Passage:
- Judges is full of bloodshed, sin, and people making the same mistakes over and over again.
- The story introduces a character named Gideon, whose country is at war with Midian.
- Gideon had every reason to be scared. The Midianites were known for their violence and gore.
- Israelites were facing poverty, pain, and punishment at the hands of these awful people.
Life is hard sometimes. Our stories seem like tragedies or even downright horror stories at times, but you can live a better story.
Tips on living out a better story:
1: Fire your narrator. Judges 6:11-12
- Where was Gideon? He was “Threshing wheat”-when you throw wheat into the air to separate it and to process it; the good stuff lands, and the bad stuff flies away.
- Where was Gideon doing this? In a winepress-a massive hole in the ground. This is the least effective place on earth to thresh wheat. No wind, no space…
- What on earth is Gideon doing? He is hiding. He is scared, so he has chosen to do his work underground.
- Gideon actually sounds like a coward, not a warrior. However, God comes to him and calls him “mighty warrior.” God could have said, “Coward.” “You wimp.” “You baby.”
- This is not what God does, though. God sees him for his potential – for what Gideon can ultimately become.
- God sees past your problems to your potential. Some of you have so many negative voices in your life.
- If you want to live a story worth telling, then you need to fire your current narrator. Let God narrate your story. Just like when God calls Gideon a mighty warrior, He will do the same in your life. God will call you by your potential. God sees the gifts within you because He put them there.
- Gideon struggled with letting other people’s opinions hold him back. He said, (Judges 6:15).
- It’s easy to get lost in other people’s opinions about us. However, we can’t let other people tell our stories for us.
- Don’t let what others say about you pull you away from who God says you are.
- Tune into the right narrator, who is saying that you are lovable, gifted, and worth dying for.
2: Use what you have. Judges 6:13-14
- God told him to “Go in the strength you have,” -the strength he already has.
- He doesn’t say, “Go think about how you can become stronger.” He doesn’t say, “Go prepare until you are stronger.” God tells Gideon that he is strong enough in this very moment to save Israel.
- You are strong enough in this very moment for God to use you in big ways, too.
- Do what you can with what you have!
- You don’t need to delay your story. God is ready to use you right now, where you are, with what you already have. Stop saying:
- “… you don’t have the time.”
- “… you can’t because you aren’t able.”
- “… you won’t because you aren’t ready.”
- Push past excuses. “Excuses are like armpits. Everyone has one and they stink.” God will use your passion to pursue His purpose.
3: Make every moment matter. Judges 6:14
- Once you begin to see yourself the way God sees you and understand that God has given you gifts to make a difference right now, you have everything you need to make this moment a turning point in your story.
- So many say … “One day I am going to …”
- “One day” is the devil’s favorite day.
- He wants you to procrastinate-to delay-to put off …
- But you won’t be something great one day if you’re not working towards it today.
- Know your story. Every single action you make and word you speak is adding chapters to your story, so make them count!
- Make a difference …
- Make this moment matter.
If you want to live a better story, you need to …
- Fire your narrator. Get to know God and believe what He says about you.
- Use what you have. Trust that God has already given you the gifts you need to make a difference.
- and Make every moment matter. Don’t delay God’s plans for your story.
Make your life a story worth telling, a story of incredible faith, strength, and impact.