Not Your Story

They make plans, set goals, accomplish dreams.

Their life seems like a dream to you because you make plans, set goals and find yourself at dead ends picking up the pieces.

When life does not necessarily go the way I hoped, I find myself looking to others, comparing my life with theirs.

Why do things work out for them and not me? Bitterness and self-pity creep in and occupy the place in my heart where gratefulness should reside no matter the outward circumstance.

And then, the words of Aslan in one of my favorite Narnia books, The Horse and His Boy, comes to mind, "'Child,' said the Lion, 'I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.'"

In the same manner, no one is to live another's story, only their own.

Just as God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you" (Jeremiah 1:5) He speaks the same promise to us. He created our own unique story as He was knitting us together in our mother's womb.

And because its from Him, that story is perfect.

Nevertheless, it is still difficult not to compare:

Why did he get that promotion? That's not your story.

Why was she given the man of her dreams? That's not your story.

Why was he healed? That's not your story.

Why were they given children? That's not your story.

Why was her first novel a best seller? This is certainly not my story!

We can look at Jesus' miracles as examples of Him working and moving in people's lives differently.

He healed the lame, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the demon possessed.

But all of His healing miracles were done in different ways.

Sometimes He touched the eyes of the blind and they were healed. Another instance, he rubbed saliva and mud on the man's eyes and after he washed, the man was able to see.

Sometimes Jesus healed without a touch like the paralytic who was lowered through the roof by his friends. Jesus merely said, “I say to you, get up. Take your bed and go to your home” (Luke 5:24) and the man was instantly healed.

Sometimes the healings were not as immediate. Some who were sick had to experience death first and loved ones had to experience the pain like the synagogue leader's daughter and Lazarus.

Those who witnessed His miracles for themselves or for their friends and family might have wondered why Jesus chose to accomplish them in different ways.

The diverse approaches Jesus took to display His miracles, were all to highlight His power and glory.

It is the same with us and God's plan for our lives.

The life story God is writing for us will be different from others and we might wonder why events pan out the way they do. But we can trust in a loving Father who knows what is best and is working in and through us to display His power and glory.