I like to hear people’s life stories. What has led you them to where they are now? I love to hear how God’s been all about that person’s redemption. From the good to the bad, from the neat to the messy, from the easy to the difficult, God has been using people and situations to work for their redemption.
Last night in our small group meeting, we talked about prayer and asking God for “stuff.” We ended with discussing the importance of trusting God to give good gifts. God’s ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), and that’s a good thing! If God were to simply grant every one of our requests, our lives would be much more messed up than they already are! He allows us to experience pain and suffering, choosing not to grant our every request in the way we think it should be granted. God’s story of redemption for us often isn’t easy (then again, neither was God’s plan to bring that redemption about…the cross was agonizing, no doubt), but it’s good. You’ve probably heard it quoted: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” But what is our good? Happiness? Ease of life? Pain-free living? Financial success? Physical health? No, the answer is found in the very next verse. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:28-29). The way we measure whether a “gift” from God is good is whether or not it helps to conform us to the image of Christ. Christ is our good, and anything that points us to a more faithful walk with him we can count as a good gift from God.
What’s your story? Here are a few for you to see, and I really like this format for hearing how God’s worked in people’s lives. Do you have another good idea for capturing people’s stories?
