The End Of The Spear: Let God Write Your Story

“Let God Write Your Story”

Sermon by Steve Saint

th October 24 , 2004

Cornerstone Church - St. Cloud, FL

Adapted by Bearing Fruit Communications

Courtesy of ITEC Ministries - www.itecusa.org

Scripture References: Proverbs 16:9; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Jeremiah 29:11-13; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Who’s the Author?

There are two lines that I remember from a poem that we read in high school [Invictus, by William Ernest Henley]: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” Those lines have stayed with me in part because, when I read them, I remember thinking, “This is the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard.” Even at that early stage of my life, I knew that God was the author of life, not me.

Nevertheless, we all love to know how our lives are going to work out, especially in North America. Our culture is addicted to making plans. It seems that the more plans we have, the more secure we feel. The truth is that there are times when we may feel that life is under control. If that’s how you feel right now, I promise you – it won’t last. Most of the time, however, we feel like we aren’t in con-trol of anything.

It’s in times like this that we find ourselves asking a very important question: is there a loving God who really cares about us? Is there really a heavenly Father who can take all of those little details of our lives and mold them into something that makes sense; something within which we can find a sense of significance that all of us are looking for? The world around us is in turmoil. And our per-sonal lives can often seem just as bad. Does God really care about those little things happening in our lives that we wish we could control but feel like we can’t? And do we believe that God will do some-thing with them?

My wife, Ginny, once heard a story on the radio that she thought I would appreciate. There once was an old man who was very poor. In an attempt to take care of his family, he pooled all of his money and bought a horse. The people in town thought that this was a foolish thing to do because “things happen to horses.” Sure enough, a few days later, the horse was missing. The town’s people came to the poor old man and said: “Oh what a tragedy!” But the old man was very wise and replied, “We don’t know yet if this is going to be a tragedy or a blessing.” A few days later, the horse returned, and trailing behind him was a herd of 15 wild mustangs. Again, the town’s people came back to the old man and said, “You were right! This was a blessing and not a tragedy.” But, again, the old man an-swered, “Well, we really don’t know yet if this is a blessing or a tragedy.” A few days later, his only son was breaking in one of the wild mustangs when he was thrown. While lying on the ground, the horse trampled him and shattered his leg. The town’s people returned, saying: “It’s true, what a trag-edy! Your only son is now crippled for life!” But this happened right before the war started and all the other young men from the town were called away to war. And none returned. When the people from the town came to speak to the old man, they said, “Now, we understand.”

Big God - Epic Story

You and I have little to do with what happens in the world around us. But we are children of the One who reigns. All the way through the Bible we discover that God is weaving the events of life into His grand design for our lives and our world. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” In Ecclesiastes 9:11 we are taught, “The race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.” And who is the Lord of time and chance? In one of the most well-known scriptures, God tells His people in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “‘For surely I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.’ ”

Isn’t it unbelievable that God cares enough for us to include us in His plans? And He not only in-cludes us in his plans for our lives, but He includes us in His plans for the world as well. What is hard to understand is how this happens when we’re faced with the events and moments in life that don’t make sense.