As I opened my Bible the other morning to read my daily Advent reading, a thought crossed my mind. Each year I find myself flipping to the same books of the Bible to read about the events leading up to our Saviors birth. The stories aren’t new. The same scriptures appear in my devotionals each year. I am very familiar with the promises of God and how the story of Christmas unfolded. So why do I keep reading them over and over and over?
Because the story matters.
Because God can use the stories we’ve read time and time again to do something new in our hearts.
That’s what happened Thursday morning as I sat with my Bible open in front of a twinkling tree and warm fire!
I found myself reading Isaiah 53. That morning I decided to read from The Message.
The chapter speaks of Jesus and all he endured for our sins, but we can apply portions of it to our own lives.
The words are familiar, but God reminded me of something as I read them.
He reminded me that He uses our lives and our stories to advance His kingdom.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him. (Isaiah 53:10)
Obviously, we’re talking about Jesus here. His birth and death were meant to save the world from their sins. His story is the ultimate story. His story overflows with hard and holy. His story is one of love, forgiveness, mercy and grace.
But as I read these words I couldn’t help but think of my own story. It has also been filled with hard and holy moments. There’s joy and hope, pain and tears, faith and fear. It’s a story worth sharing.
Even in our deepest pain and darkest hours, God’s plan will prosper through us if we surrender our stories (lives) to Him.
It will be hard at times. Nobody likes trials, pain, heartache and grief.
We live in a broken world that can feel unbearable a lot of the time.
We can be overcome with doubt.
We can question the story God’s written for us.
We can find ourselves standing alone.
Living out our stories will take sacrifice.
But it’s worth it!
Isaiah 53:11 says, Out of that terrible travail of soil, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
It is always worth it to follow Jesus. It is always worth it to share our stories of hope, hard times and holy moments.
Because what if my story reaches ONE person who has never felt the love of Christ?
What if my story encourages the special needs mama a few steps behind me on this journey?
What if my story brings hope to the couple trying to adopt?
My story matters.
Your story matters.
Share you story and spread hope today!