Matthew 7:7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 Ask and it shall be given to you. All of this is intended to get me to the strait gate.
Every time the disciples were in a distressing storm, the problem was fear. God was always present. When they acknowledged Him, the fear was gone. There can be peace inside when it isn’t peaceful outside. Peace brings the opportunity for more peace.
Will You Change the Narrative?
Jeremiah 29:11 “I know” in the passage is God speaking, not the prophet. It is personal to me. Regardless of calamity, affliction, or burden, there is an expected end (a future and a hope). God knows what He is thinking: thoughts of peace.
The speaker related how he was voted by his senior high school class “Least Likely to Succeed.” When he graduated from college, he received a letter from his father, admitting he had had no hope that his son would ever make anything of himself. The truth is – words do hurt. They often start a narrative and, unless something happens, an individual ultimately starts to believe that narrative and begins to live it out. Actions have consequences. His behavior at the time wasn’t impressing anyone and demonstrated the likely end. It was up to him to change his narrative, with the help of Christ.
In the Israelites' case, they were in their situation by their own doing. However, they did have hope of an expected end that was not evil. Everyone can have this expectation.
Glenn Cunningham was a medal-winning runner in the 1930s that was so badly injured as a child, he was told he would never walk again. Everyone presumed the narrative was a foregone conclusion, but Cunningham did not accept this and worked hard to change the narrative.
Even if I feel abandoned, hopeless, or without a future, God says, “I know my own thoughts about you. They are of peace. They are hopeful.”
Jeremiah 29:5,6,7,8,9,10 False narratives convince people that they are stuck. It seemed that there were only two options for the Jews: they could rebel or give in to hopelessness. Jeremiah advised them that neither was what God wanted. The captivity was ordained by God – he wanted them to thrive and increase. Can I use my situation to bring peace to despondent circumstances?
Who is the author of my narrative? Is it true?
“Just because you cannot do something doesn’t mean God cannot.” Unshakeable by Christine Caine
Matthew 11:28 Am I tired of fighting?
I am not defined by the mistakes of the past or how others might categorize me.
Matthew 26:20,21,30,31,32,33,34,35,69,70,71,72,73,74,75 Peter remembered the words of Jesus. This was a crucial point. Satan was using everything to discourage Peter. He could have succumbed to the grief of failure. Instead, Peter chose to reject the false narrative, repent of his denial, and went on to become an impactful apostle. Everyone has “messed up.” Don’t let that be the defining moment of your life!
Acts 2:14,37,38,39,40,41 Peter chose to rewrite the narrative. He was a very different man. He helped change the world.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Old things can pass away. I might see my human flaws, but those things can also change. God sees the bigger picture.
In an interview with The New York Times, Michelle Obama explained the meaning behind her words: When they go low, we go high. “Going high” doesn’t mean I don’t feel hurt or that I'm not entitled to an emotion. It means that my response has to reflect the solution. Does my response to life’s challenges reflect a solution?
Luke 18:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 The widow was not out for revenge or retaliation as a solution. She was asking to be vindicated (supported and defended). She obviously had not felt supported up to this point and perhaps felt the ending to her story had been decided for her. She went big to rise above her emotions and the assumed narrative.
Others do not get to write my story for me. I can have a voice. I matter to God. “Going high” means I bring my situation before God with confidence that He wants to avenge (do justice for, protect) me.
Am I allowing God to rewrite my narrative to one with a future and a hope?
