Who is the real author of your story?

Last week we touched on the importance of avoiding preachiness in our memoirs, of avoiding coming across as holier-than-thou. People won’t respond well if we have a know-it-all manner, as if we’ve “arrived.”

Instead of preaching at our readers, let’s just humbly tell our stories.

Rather than drawing attention to how awesome we are, let’s show readers how awesome God is!

It’s not all about what you and I did, but what God did.

Henri Nouwen offers us this wisdom:

“I need to learn to speak well of the work God is doing in my life…, not with self-congratulation but with humble awareness of divine activity.” (Henri Nouwen, Discernment)

Think about two prominent men in the Bible, David and Paul. We tend to think of them as set-apart saints, but they were regular people like you and me—they really messed up sometimes.

Their lives were a mixture of faith and disobedience, spiritual success and failures, yet God used them in mighty ways and continues to use them to this day. It’s not so much what David or Paul did, it’s what God did.

“Abraham is . . . one of the most important men in the history of the world,” writes Richard Peace. “What makes Abraham so important . . . is not his sterling character (which he did not have), his outstanding intellect (which may have existed but it is not mentioned), his charming personality (he could be pretty annoying), or substantial personal accomplishments (he has few, apart from his pilgrimage to the promised land).

“What Abraham is remembered for,” continues Peace, “is his faithfulness in obeying God’s call to undertake a long and demanding journey. It was not so much what Abraham did, but what God did. . . . In Abraham we see not so much a saint in action; rather, the faithfulness and graciousness of God. . . . In Abraham we see an ordinary man who is used by God, not because of who Abraham was, but because of who God is. . . .” (Richard Peace, Spiritual Storytelling)

Bottom line: Write your stories, not because of who you are, but because of who God is.

Praise the Lord . . .

Tell everyone what he has done. . . .

Remember all his miracles

and all his wonders

and his fair decisions. . . .”

Psalm 105:1-5 selected CEV

 . . . Our adequacy is from God. . . .

Therefore, having such a hope,

we use great boldness in our speech [or writing]. . . .

2 Corinthians 3:5, 12, NAS

Write your stories!

Depend on God to make you adequate for this awesome ministry.

Humbly use heavenly boldness in your writing.

God can use your story

to help others become all He intends for them to be.

You? Write a book? What makes you so special?

You are important to God.

Your stories are important to God and your family.

So you’ve decided to write your memoir—but you hear nagging little whispers.

“Who do you think you are?”

“You? Write a book? What makes you so special?”

You might ask, “Who am I, that I should write such stories? I’m not a Moses, or a David, or a Paul, or an Abraham….”

But wait! Moses got so mad he killed an Egyptian and ran away and hid in the desert for 40 years.

And later, when God said He was sending Moses to Pharoah to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses made all kinds of excuses and balked and wailed, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13).

Here’s the important point: It’s not that Moses was so great—it’s what God did: He enabled Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of milk and honey—and so much more.

Then there’s David, and Paul. It’s easy to think of them as saints, but they really messed up sometimes. Their lives were a mixture of faith and willful disobedience, spiritual success and failures, yet God used them in mighty ways and continues to do so today. It’s not so much what David or Paul did, but what God did.

“Abraham is…one of the most important men in the history of the world,” writes Richard Peace. “What makes him so important … is not his sterling character (which he did not have), his outstanding intellect (which may have existed but it is not mentioned), his charming personality (he could be pretty annoying) or substantial personal accomplishments (he has few, apart from his pilgrimage to the promised land). What Abraham is remembered for is his faithfulness in obeying God’s call to undertake a long and demanding journey. It was not so much what Abraham did, but what God did…. In Abraham we see not so much a saint in action; rather, the faithfulness and graciousness of God…. In Abraham we see an ordinary man who is used by God, not because of who Abraham was, but because of who God is….” (Richard Peace, Spiritual Storytelling)

So…. How does that make you feel? Can you see yourself as an ordinary person used by God?

Bottom line: Write your stories—not because of who you are, but because of who God is.

It’s not that we think

we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves.

Our only power and success come from God.

2 Corinthians 3:5, NLT

…Our adequacy is from God…. Therefore, having such a hope,

we use great boldness in our speech [and writing]….

2 Corinthians 3:5, 12, NAS

Write your stories!

Depend on God to make you adequate for this awesome task.

Use heavenly boldness in your writing.

Your stories can help readers

become all God created them to be.

Your stories: Not because of who you are, but because of who God is

We’ve established that you are important to God.*


And we’ve recognized that your stories are important to God and your family.*


So you want to write your memoir, but you hear nagging little whispers:


“Who do you think you are? You? Write a book? What makes you so special?”


You might ask, “Who am I, that I should write such stories? I’m not a Moses, or a David, or a Paul, or an Abraham.…”


But wait! Moses witnessed an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews and got so mad that he killed the Egyptian.

Then Moses ran away and hid in the desert for 40 years.


And later, when God said He was sending Moses to Pharoah and wanted to use him to bring Israelites out of Egypt, Moses made all kinds of excuses and balked and wailed, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13).


The point? It’s not that Moses was so great—it’s what God did: He enabled Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of milk and honey—and so much more!


Then there’s David, and Paul—it’s easy to think of them as saints, but they really messed up sometimes. Their lives were a mixture of faith and willful disobedience, spiritual successes and failures, yet God used them in mighty ways and continues to do so today. It’s not so much what David or Paul did, it’s what God did.


“Abraham is …. one of the most important men in the history of the world. What makes Abraham so important … is not his sterling character (which he did not have), his outstanding intellect (which may have existed but it is not mentioned), his charming personality (he could be pretty annoying) or substantial personal accomplishments (he has a few, apart from his pilgrimage to the promised land). What Abraham is remembered for is his faithfulness in obeying God’s call to undertake a long and demanding journey. It was not so much what Abraham did, but what God did.… In Abraham we see not so much a saint in action; rather, the faithfulness and graciousness of God.… In Abraham we see an ordinary man who is used by God, not because of who Abraham was, but because of who God is….” (Richard Peace, Spiritual Storytelling)


Bottom line: Write your stories—not because of who you are, but because of who God is.

It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves.

Our only power and success come from God.

(2 Corinthians 3:5, NLT) 

… Our adequacy is from God.… Therefore, having such a hope,

we use great boldness in our speech [or writing]….

(2 Corinthians, 3:5, 12, NAS)

Write your stories!

Depend on God to make you adequate for this awesome task.

Use heavenly boldness in your writing.

Your stories can help your readers

become all God created them to be.

*Related posts:

You are important to God, http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-are-important-to-god.html
Your stories are important, http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/05/are-your-stories-important.html