Can We Trust God With Our Story?

william-shakespeare-62936_1280“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare quipped. I can appreciate his enthusiasm for the theatre; I’ve been doing community theatre for about ten years, and I never get over the thrill of stepping onto the stage to put on a dazzling performance. There’s nothing like curtain call, the flash of the cameras and sound of applause.

Recently I realized I had created a stage-perfect life. My husband and I have a great marriage. We have beautiful daughters, and I had the fortune of being a homeschool mom until the youngest one graduated. My husband works for a national Christian radio host. We’ve been leaders in church. We have a nice house and lots of wonderful friends. Life was great.

To be honest, I was beginning to pat myself on the back for overcoming what was a really rough childhood. To overcome it, I had created the perfect Christian family.

You can probably tell where this is going, can’t you?

Early in 2014, my stage-perfect life started to crumble. Memories of childhood trauma played through my mind, unbidden and immutable. It was as though I were that powerless little girl again. Hurt, lonely, confused, and ashamed.

audience-828584_1280I didn’t know how to reconcile those feelings with my identity as a stage-perfect Christian. I asked God, “If you’re good, why didn’t you stop those bad things from happening?” and “Why didn’t you protect me?”

I withdrew from family and friends. I lived life in a fog. If this is the way things are, I don’t want to live on this earth anymore.

One day, I drove home from the grocery store, tears running down my cheeks. I was praying, “Lord, why did you make me…me? Why couldn’t I have someone else’s life?”

As I pulled into the garage, I heard, “Lyneta will you trust me with your story?”

I looked into the rearview mirror. Thankfully, the backseat was empty.

It wasn’t an audible voice, but it was so close and so unlike any of the other voices I’d been listening to all these months that I knew it was God.

“Trust me with your story. Let me show you how I’ll redeem it.”

I hadn’t been doing such a great job with my story, so why not?

“Okay,” I said aloud. “I’ll trust you with it.”

Healing didn’t come instantly, but over the course of months, I was finally able to share with a counselor and my husband, who knew very little of what I’d endured. God showed me Scriptures that helped turn the lies I’d believed about myself into truths.

Ephesians 2:10 (The New Living Translation) says,  “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

When we speak of a masterpiece like Mona Lisa, we say, “Wow, that’s an amazing painting!” But we’re not praising oil marks on poplar wood, are we?mona-lisa-690203_1280

We’re praising da Vinci, because he’s a master artist. Mona Lisa didn’t have to do anything to become a masterpiece—she was created that way.

When we look at ourselves the way God’s word describes us, we understand that we’re not his Masterpieces because of the good works we do; we do the good works He prepared for us, because we are His masterpieces.

So, when we step out on the stage—and we will, because…all the world’s a stage—we do the works He prepared for us in order to fulfill our unique purpose in life. That’s when the world will see us and praise and glorify the Master Creator.

 

 

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10 Comments

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  1. Lea says:

    I have had those God moments too..where I hear His voice and I look around to see who said that . 🙂

    It’s a turning point when you start trusting God with your story. I have been praying as someone who has never married – that God will create my love story. And as I wait, God reminded me that even this waiting time is part of my story – that my whole life is the story He is creating! Thank you for reminding us that we are God’s masterpieces!!

  2. Erin Unger says:

    The devil can pull us down with our past so quick, can’t he? Thank the Lord that God can reach down and pick us back up no matter how far we’ve fallen.

  3. Maresa says:

    Your story is a masterpiece! So glad you are sharing it with the world and giving God all the glory. You’ll soon be enjoying your standing ovation from all who have the pleasure to hear and see. It’s a joy to watch as He uses you to help others embrace and share their stories too. Keep it up! Loving what you’re doing.

  4. Tope says:

    I love your post….we are his masterpieces created to do the good works that he planned long ago. Because God is our Creator, we can trust him with our stories. Thanks for this reminder.

  5. Lyneta, you’re brave to deal with the past and trust God. And then to share part of your story with others. I especially appreciate what you said about the paint and the wood. We praise the master artist for a beautiful work of art. God is to be praised if there is anything good in us. We are His workmanship. He is the hero and the master painter. Thank you for your post!

    • Lyneta says:

      Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words! Even though I would have preferred not to go through those circumstances, I’m blessed that God wants to use it to reach others with the message that they are masterpieces.