Rewriting My Story

And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart. 2 Chronicles 25:2

I wrote yesterday about my life story, lamenting the fact that even though I believe in God and have good intentions, I still often follow my own way to self-destruction. I used King Amaziah’s life story as an illustration. Amaziah was a man of good intentions, but who’s pride and impulsivity led to his downfall. Eventually, this Judean king’s poor decisions caught up with him as he was assassinated by those who were offended by his idolatry.

I may not be in danger of a political coup, as I don’t rule over anyone, but it’s not exaggerating to say that, when it comes to my daily decisions, my life hangs in the balance. What Amaziah failed to realize, was that his life was a sum of his daily choices and that if he defied God long enough, following his own way, it would eventually catch up with him, leading to his own demise.

I may feel some unfortunate kinship with Amaziah, but in yesterday’s blog, I may have also given the impression that I feel destined to follow this king into the trash bin of history as someone who followed himself more than he followed God.

I often say that even though we’re all deeply flawed, we are not destined to live enslaved to our flaws. We cannot change the reality that we will have struggles, but we do not have to live enslaved to those struggles. Despite our failures, we can, if we will follow God, rewrite our stories. Daily, if we will turn to him, God can and will save us from ourselves.

And that is the profound truth and beauty of the gospel message. God loves us and desires that we experience life, joy, and peace. We find disaster when we try to find life in going our own way, but our way is misery. God’s way is life. Daily, this is our choice then – to follow our way or God’s way. If we follow God’s way, he will rewrite our story, remaking us into what he wants us to be. And that is a story worth living and dying, doing whatever it takes, to find.