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Good Story: The Moral of the Story
By Karen D’Amore
“Delight yourself in
the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4
So
what’s the moral of this story?
“For
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and
not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5).
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”
(Ephesians 2:10).
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).
“And we know that all things work together
for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His
purpose” (Romans 8:28).
While being formed in our mother’s womb…God
was writing each of our stories. Our stories contained His good works, which He planned in advance for us to do. Having
free will, we choose to either follow in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra who
proclaimed, “I did it my way,” or to submit to God and live our life…His way.
To my dismay, I spent many years adopting Sinatra’s philosophy and “did it my
way.” But once I resolved to “Delight myself in the Lord” and follow in His
footsteps…the moral of my life-story took a drastic turn.
As Christ-followers, we’re to bring honor
and glory to God, through our surrendered lives…“So whatever you do…do it all
for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). By abandoning our will…our
plan…and our selfish desires…our God-infused hearts are drawn to proclaim,
“Whatever…Lord!” Even when our stories take seemingly illogical twists and
turns, and we encounter bumps and delays…we must continue to trust in God’s
best. We must resist the temptation to interfere and re-write God’s perfect
story.
My story personifies the choice to trust God
and do it...HIS way. I was already His delight, but as He became mine…a
beautiful story reflecting His ways, His time, His power and His purpose…came
to life.
So…what’s your story?
Choose to “delight yourself in the Lord” and
allow Him to infuse your heart with His desires. And as God fulfills the
desires of your heart, allow Him to turn your good stories…into God Stories!
“…being
confident of this, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 1:6).
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Is something hindering you from living a surrendered life? Ask God to search
your heart and remove any affection greater than He.
FURTHER READING:
Married
to Dan, Karen, a retired police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at
Craig Berns Salon. She’s a leader for
Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study and a volunteer at the Wildlife In Need
Center.
