“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11
I’ve recently been reading the book “Living Life Backward” by David Gibson, a study of Ecclesiastes. While I still have a long way to go, I’m stunned and amazed by the truths I’ve had to come to terms with. The real whammy was the realization that my life story is not MY story! I still remember how I first reacted when I received my cancer diagnosis more than 11 years ago. I said to my husband, “This is so wrong! The main character of a story can’t die! Who would want to read a story like that??”
The surprising but good news is that we are NOT the main characters of our stories—God is! He is the Creator, we are mere creatures. We are not even the writers of our stories—He is! And He has graciously written us into the script. We are blessed to be a part of the earth’s history, aka: HIS story.
The truth that our stories are His should bring us a lot of comfort. We were actually created and chosen to be a vital and important part of His plan and His purpose for the world. How amazing is that! We are often anxious and nervous that we can’t control the events of our life stories, and especially our endings. As mere creatures, we "cannot fathom what God [our Creator] has done from beginning to end." We cannot fathom it because of our limitations of time and language and sight; we simply are not equipped to understand His mysteries from our vantage point on earth. But take heart! The Author has planned the most perfect ending imaginable. We can trust that the One who loves us so much that He sent his Only Son to dwell among us and to suffer and die for us, will write a much better ending to each of our stories than we ever could! Lean into Him and trust Him with your story. He is actively writing it; He thinks of you every moment as He weaves your life story into the greater story of His plan of salvation. May we all rejoice to be a part of His wonderful, marvelous, amazing story!
Father, thank You for the gracious reminder that we are
but creatures and You are the Creator. You are the Author of our life stories and we
rejoice in this gift! Help us to keep our eyes focused on You, to remember
always that You have a good and perfect plan for us. Our time on earth will
some day end, but it will only happen when Your purpose for each of us has been
fulfilled. We rejoice in both Your plan for our lives right now, and in Your
promise that our lives do not end here on earth! Whatever You do, endures
forever. Amen!
