What Story Are You Telling Yourself?

What story are you telling yourself? I’m here to give you the inside scoop on a small detail in the plot of your story you’ve probably overlooked because the long and short of it is, the story you’ve been telling yourself may need some editing if you’re going to fulfil the calling and destiny on your life. The one common denominator in the story we tell ourselves, this one teensy tiny detail that we keep putting in that sits like an elephant in the corner of a room is this…

We all want to be the hero.

Now, I know that’s hard for some of us to swallow. But the truth is that we are not the hero of our stories. Jesus is the hero. Period. And if your dream starts and ends with you, then it’s a good dream, but it’s not a God-sized dream. The thing with God-sized dreams is that the story arc to the whole plot is that the hero has already defeated the dragon, overcome great trials, and sacrificed Himself to save the world before you’ve even started chapter one.

In John chapter 13, we find Simon Peter made a promise to Jesus. Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”  Jesus cut right through Peter’s bold statement and revealed the story he was telling himself. This audacious claim made by Peter saw himself as the hero in the finale of the story. The epic tale which was to be played out at Golgotha would make him the hero alongside Jesus instead of Jesus being the true hero. In fairness, Peter did eventually die a martyr’s death for Jesus. However, he had to go through a radical transformation and character refining process to fulfil the calling on his life which was to build God’s church. In other words, the process he had to go through was to die to himself and let Jesus be the hero of his story.

If you approach your dreams knowing that Jesus is the hero of the story, then those nagging voices inside your head that have been spinning their yarns for years, telling you that you’re either too old, too late, too busy or too broke will have no power over you, because when you’re not the hero of the story none of that matters. We don’t need to prove anything to anyone when we aren’t the “chosen one” of our stories. Joshua 1:8 reminds us to not let the book of the Law depart from our mouths. Why? ‘For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.’ Read the Bible and you’ll succeed in life? Sounds simple to me.

When you know within the core of your very being what God says about you, then you’ll win every time. In Jessica Brody’s book, ‘Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The last book on novel writing you’ll ever need’ she breaks down the superhero story of being extraordinary in an ordinary world. She claims that the superhero doesn’t need to wonder if they are special, they know it. However, the nemesis cannot rely on anything else but themselves. They must create the façade of the hero by manipulating others which only leads to them becoming the false hero of the story. The real hero doesn’t need to prove who he is, he just steps into his destiny. (pages 144-149)

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to play the part of the false hero in my life story, I need Jesus to be the real hero of my story because the truth is my weakness needs His greatness so I can fulfil the calling He’s placed on my life. Jesus reminds us in John 5:30 that “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” If Jesus understood this principle, then we must let God’s will be done in our lives too. You don’t need to be the hero of the story you’re telling yourself when you know the God who created the whole universe, who defeated giants and shut the mouths of lions, and who reminds us in Ephesians 3:20 that He can do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

When you’re not the hero of the story, you don’t have to hustle for your worth, you don’t need to beg other characters to see your value or explain yourself when you’ve been misunderstood and seen as less than. James 4:10 reminds us to ‘humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.’

So, what story are you telling yourself?

Wendy xo

Do you feel the pressure is off now you know that you don’t need to be the hero of your story?