“Now, who will write MY stories?”
I heard God whisper this to my heart as I watched a reel on Facebook about a man, just released from prison, being shown kindness. A stranger had generously given him a thousand dollars and the birthday gift of watching the NBA live. As I watched, I found myself shedding a tear.
“What is your dream?” the stranger asked the man.
“To be happy…” answered the ex-convict. “I am happy because you are not dehumanizing me.”
It was such a gift for him to be treated as human. And it is such a gift for us to BE human—to have choices, to feel deeply, to be moved by people, to dream again after a broken past. We get to wake up to surprises and witness the beauty of another sunrise.
Image by Giani Gheorghe from Pixabay
Granted, not all days are good. We make foolish choices sometimes, but each day intersects with God’s divine pen. He’s already written the blueprint of our lives, allowing us the gift of choice (therefore an invitation to co-write with Him!), and He STILL makes sure that love and mercy chase us down each day—no matter how awful a particular day seems to be.
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” – Psalm 139:16
“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…” Psalm 23:6a
Not a day passes that God’s fingerprint does not touch us. The question is do we see Him in our lives? Involved in our stories?
There are many different perspectives we can have in writing our stories, but do we ask ourselves, “Where is God in my story? How is He moving in my life?”
Image by Daniil Kondrashin from Pexels
A Life Beyond the Usual
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” – Psalm 105:1
What has God done in our lives? When we read the Bible, we encounter many stories of God in the lives of people. We love that He rescued the Israelites, split the Red Sea, brought them to the Promised Land. We read of Him opening deaf ears, causing the lame to walk, raising Lazarus from the grave. Then we go back… to our usual day. We’re inspired by what we read in the Bible, but often, we find ourselves falling short of dreaming for the impossible. “Can this even be for me?” we ask ourselves. “Can this happen to me?”
Why not?
The God of the Bible is the God now. I believe that we have been dehumanizing ourselves into believing that life is simply how everyday rolls out; that success is simply thriving where we are at, or that life is simply to make each day make sense as we live honestly and responsibly. Don’t get me wrong: I love that life can be honest and responsible and simple. And I get it that God can use the mundane to shape our character, especially in the area of faithfulness. But have we forgotten to dream of a life wrapped up by something or Someone so extraordinary? Are we forgetting that God has given us the invitation to live an extraordinary life with Him?
Image by Nilina from Pexels
When was the last time we asked Him for a miracle? Are we so jaded by fuel prices and political turmoil in this nation that we have forgotten that unlimited power is His and that He still walks in majesty? Are we proclaiming His name, making known to the nations (not just our little itty-bitty circle) what He has done?
Dare we dream again? Perhaps we need to see what Jesus sees. How Jesus sees. Remember what He prayed to the Father:
“I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— I in them and You in Me— that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved me.” – John 17:22-23
He has given us glory to carry.
Glory to Shine Forth
“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.” -Colossians 1:27
Timidity is a common corner we find ourselves in when glory is involved. We say, “All glory to Him and not to us,” lest we puff up in pride when we do something remarkable. Ah well, there is truth to Jesus receiving all the glory, but He wants His glory to be released in us and through us. We can acknowledge this. He delights in working with us and moving in us. He wants us to shine like the stars in the heavens, reflecting His glory. There should be no room for putting ourselves down.
There is something so valuable that God sees in each of us. He desires to move greatly in all of us. His dreams for us are very big. Just ask Abraham. He wanted a son—dreamt of a son—but God wanted more for Him. He wanted Abraham to be the father of many nations, with kings coming from him, and with an eternal covenant for His descendants to embrace generation to generation.
Image by Mabel Amber from Pixabay
Now Who Will Write My Story?
I have been on such a long hiatus from One Voice Magazine; on being present but not really. Oh, I’ve been writing, yes–but other things, and teaching and filling my days with all sorts of projects, easily forgetting the importance of One Voice Magazine. Honestly, I have been forgetting the dream of God—the dream of seeing people becoming strong witnesses of His love and power; the dream of rejoicing in the stories He writes with people so others can know Him.
And so I must heed His whisper: Now Who Will Write My Story?
Because His dream is my dream, too.
Therefore, here I am waking up again, stretching my limbs, greeting you a great, divine day of God’s goodness and mercy. God has given us not just the gift of life, but the gift of writing our stories with Him and of dreaming with Him for people and the nations.
Image by Mabel Amber from Pixabay
Please pray for me and the team as we move again. Age is catching up with us, as well as realities like marriage (a good number in the team are already married) and financial responsibilities. If ever you do feel the call to be a part of One Voice Magazine, do drop me an email at janina@onevoicemagazine.com. I’d love to connect with you and explore possibilities of your involvement.
And oh, a happy thing to share: We’ll be releasing a print issue, Deeply Rooted, Boldly Filipino this October. It’ll be hard work, but worth every minute spent, as we dive into what it means to be deeply rooted as a Filipino Christian in Christ—unfazed by all the bad news erupting around us.
It’s time for us to dream again and move. Join us too, yes?
One with you in Jesus,
Janina Marie Rivera
Image by Loveandi Official from Pixabay
Janina Marie Rivera is the author of the book, A Night Bird Sings of Blindness and Fear and has co-authored the devotional, Dawns, published by OMF Literature. She is a contributing poet in the books Joyful Light and Whitmanthology: on Loss and Grief by Various Authors. She is the Editor-in-Chief of One Voice Magazine.
