When God Writes Your Story

[00:00:00] Welcome back. You are now tuned in to the Prayer Is Breathing podcast. My name is Latoya and I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing.

[00:00:09] So today I want to talk to you about when God writes your story. And so the Bible tells us right in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2,

[00:00:30] Now I love this passage because it talks about Jesus being the author and the finisher of our faith.

[00:00:37] And sometimes in this faith journey, we go through different chapters, if you will, in our life.

[00:00:43] And no matter what chapter you're on right now, whether you're in the mountaintop or you're in a valley season,

[00:00:50] I just want to encourage you and let you know that God has not forgotten you.

[00:00:54] And that if you trust the Lord with your life, if you fully surrender to him, he will work all things together for your good.

[00:01:02] And you can take hope in that even when things do not seem to make sense to you.

[00:01:08] And also one of my favorite verses is in Psalm chapter 9 verse 10.

[00:01:13] And it says,

[00:01:14] And those that know your name will put their trust in you, for you will not forsake those that seek you.

[00:01:21] And I just want to say that again.

[00:01:22] And those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

[00:01:31] So when you know the Lord, when you have a resume with God, when you've been places with God,

[00:01:36] and you truly, truly, truly trust him, then understand that he will not forsake you.

[00:01:43] It is okay to put your trust in God, even as Proverbs 3 verse 5, one of our favorite verses says,

[00:01:50] Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

[00:01:52] Lean not to your own understanding.

[00:01:54] In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.

[00:01:59] And so as long as you trust God, you don't have to know the ending.

[00:02:03] You don't have to know the outcome.

[00:02:05] But you just know that God is with you and that he's going to bring you to an expected end.

[00:02:11] Just like another very popular verse, Jeremiah 29 11,

[00:02:14] We know that God's thoughts towards us are good and not evil.

[00:02:19] Thoughts of a future and a hope to bring us to an expected end.

[00:02:23] All right.

[00:02:24] So now I want to talk to you about Esther, which we all know her in the Bible.

[00:02:28] And we know the story of Esther and how the Lord delivered the Jewish people through Esther as the queen.

[00:02:35] But even when God writes your story, sometimes you can have a difficult upbringing or a difficult background and things are not always smooth.

[00:02:45] And so when we look at the story of Esther, she also had quite a bit of trials and tribulation in her life.

[00:02:52] But God was able to use her mightily for his glory.

[00:02:56] And so let's look at Esther chapter two.

[00:03:00] It says,

[00:03:26] It says,

[00:04:10] Okay.

[00:04:28] So a lot to read in there.

[00:04:30] But we see that not only were they brought into captivity, but also Esther had experienced the death of her mother and her father.

[00:04:41] And now she was being raised really by her cousin, Mordecai.

[00:04:45] And of course, as we follow her story, we know that Mordecai then goes on to say to her,

[00:04:51] Are you here for such a time as this when they're facing all the persecution and they're facing the Jewish people being completely annihilated under Haman?

[00:05:03] And God raised up to her.

[00:05:05] And God raised up Esther for that particular time so that he could overturn the decree that was set against them.

[00:05:11] And even in this, when we look at Esther, we don't hear a lot about her backstory and the fact that she was an orphan and God took her from being an orphan to being a queen.

[00:05:22] And not only was she a queen, but she was used by the Lord to rescue the Jewish people.

[00:05:28] And so even in your life, when there's trials, when there's tribulations, when there's setbacks, when you have questions and no answers and things are just extremely difficult,

[00:05:38] it does not mean that God has forsaken you because God is still writing your story.

[00:05:44] And almost every person in the Bible, we know that Jesus was born in a manger.

[00:05:49] There was no room for him in the inn.

[00:05:51] We know that Moses was hidden for months by his mom because of all the persecution then around the Israelites and the Hebrew boys.

[00:06:02] We also know that there was so much adversity with Joseph and being sold into slavery by his brothers.

[00:06:09] And so anytime you look at many of the men and women of God in the Bible, there was some adversity to their story.

[00:06:17] And so even when you face different things in life and you see different obstacles, do not let that discourage you.

[00:06:24] Understand that God is the author.

[00:06:26] He's the finisher of our faith.

[00:06:28] And even when there's plot twists, even when there's unexpected turns, just trust that God still knows what he's doing.

[00:06:35] And as you align yourself with his will, he will bring to pass everything that he has promised, everything that he has in store for you.

[00:06:47] So this is where we have the verse that all things work together for those that love the Lord and those that are called according to his purpose.

[00:06:56] And so this is a verse that we not only love and quote, but we have to believe that everything that we go through, if we love the Lord, if you truly, truly, truly love the Lord and you're trusting in him, then you know that everything that you're going through, everything God is going to work out for your good.

[00:07:15] And when you truly know that, and when you truly believe that you have a different mindset, because you understand that God has not forgotten you.

[00:07:24] God will not forsake you.

[00:07:26] And God will bring to pass everything that he's promised you.

[00:07:29] And that's Romans chapter eight, verse 28.

[00:07:32] And we know that all things.

[00:07:34] Now, let me just pause and say that the all things sometimes includes chapters of our life that we would rather not have to go through or difficult seasons or pain or suffering or grief or sorrow.

[00:07:46] But even in that, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose.

[00:07:56] And it doesn't mean that God necessarily rejoices when we're suffering, but it does mean that God will allow everything that we've been through to work together for our good, even when it doesn't make sense.

[00:08:09] And one thing I love about Jesus is that he's so honest with us.

[00:08:13] And he tells us, even in John 16, verse 33, he says,

[00:08:18] In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.

[00:08:23] And because Jesus overcame, we can overcome as well.

[00:08:28] And so I just want to say a quick prayer with you.

[00:08:30] Father, I pray for every person listening to this podcast, that whatever they're facing, whatever they're going through, that Father God, you would bring them to the expected end that you have.

[00:08:41] And Lord, thank you for being the author and the finisher of our faith.

[00:08:45] God, that even when things don't make sense, we will still put our trust in you.

[00:08:49] Oh God, because you will not forsake those who seek you.

[00:08:53] So we give you glory, honor, and praise in Jesus name.

[00:08:56] Amen.

[00:08:57] Amen.

[00:08:57] And amen.

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[00:09:05] God bless you.