God Is Still Writing Your Story... Don’t Stop Reading the Pages

Transcript

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Welcome to Our Curl Let's Pray Ministries, a podcast where hearts are encouraged, faith is strengthened, and you are reminded that someone occurs. And above all else, God loves you, and so do I. Smile and rejoice because God is not done with you yet. I want to thank you all for joining me today. No matter where you are, what kind of day you may be having, I believe this time that we are here, God wants to bless us with his presence, bless us with his word, and bless us to hear. Amen. Because God has a way of meeting us right where we are. And I thank God for that. And I want you to know that our title today that we're going to be discussing is God is Still Writing Your Story. Don't stop reading the pages, amen. Have you ever reached a chapter in your life that you didn't understand? A season filled with unanswered questions, unexpected detours, and closed doors. Heartbreak are waiting. If you ever wondered, God, what are you doing? Then this conversation is for you and me. Amen. Sometimes we are tempted to judge the whole story by one difficult chapter. But God never writes only one chapter. He writes complete stories, complete series. Amen. Stories of redemption, stories of healing, hope, restoration, purpose, and love, right? So today I want you to be reminded to not stop reading the pages, but keep on reading the chapters. Amen. Let us go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, full of grace, we thank you for the gift of another day. Thank you, oh God, for another opportunity to draw close to you. Thank you, oh God, for every listener who has joined us today. You know every detail of their lives, you know every joyful chapter and even the painful ones, oh God, you know all about it. You know the pages they celebrate and the pages they wish they could skip. Holy Father, in the name of Jesus, remind us all, oh God, that you are the author and the finisher of our faith. Help us to trust you even when we cannot understand the plot in our own story, oh God. Give us the grace to keep turning the pages, oh God, with hope, believing that you are working all things together for our good and for your glory. Holy Father, open up our hearts to receive your word today. Holy Father, let us feel your presence today. Speak peace where there is confusion. Speak courage where there is fear. Speak hope where there has been disappointment. God, speak for your servant is listening. Speak so our dry bones can get up and walk again. Speak so we can understand what to do in our waiting seasons. Honey Father, we're just asking you to speak to our heart, minds, souls, and spirit right now. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen. Amen, amen, amen. Can I ask you all a question? What chapter do you think you're living in right now? What chapter do you think that you're just sitting in right now and scared to turn the pages? Maybe it's a chapter of waiting, a chapter of healing, rebuilding after loss, where nothing seems to be happening, or perhaps you're stepping into something completely new and it feels exciting and terrifying all at the same time. But I want you to remember this: a chapter is not the whole story. Think about your favorite book for just one moment. If you only read the chapter where everything falls apart, you might think the story ends in sadness, heartbreak, tears, confusion. But the author keeps on writing, right? Why? Because new pages reveal answers, growth, reconciliation, and hope. And God does the same thing. There are chapters in our lives that we would never have chosen, yet God can use even those pages to shape our character, deepen our faith, and prepare us for what comes next. Sometimes we ask God to remove the chapter, but He is using it to transform us. I want you to know that all of our chapters matter to God. Your life is more than your worst day. Your life is more than the disappointment. Your life is more than the biggest mistakes, right? I want you to know God's grace has a way of writing beautiful endings from broken beginnings. I want you to know that God knows how to put color on our black and white pages, amen. God knows how to write and put images on the pages so it can remind us that He is still moving. Let me ask you all some reflection questions. As you spend time with the Lord during this time right now, write down these questions and then turn these questions into prayer between you and the Lord, amen. So you can truly surrender and ask God to make your story whole so you can see it, right? So you can feel it. So one of the questions you can ask is, and asking yourself that is, what chapter of my life am I resisting instead of trusting God through it? Amen. What chapter of your life are you resisting instead of trusting God through it? Amen. Where have you seen God's faithfulness in previous chapters of your life that can encourage you, encourage you right now? What might God be teaching you in this season that you couldn't learn any other way? Take a few moments after this episode to journal your thoughts and our pray through your answers. What chapter of your life are you resisting instead of trusting God? Where have you seen God's faithfulness in previous chapters that you that can encourage you today? Sorry. And what might God be teaching you in this season right now that you couldn't learn any other way? I want to encourage you real quick before we go into prayer. If today feels like a difficult chapter, don't close the book. If today feels confusing, don't assume you've reached the end. If today feels painful, remember that God is present on every page. The author of your life has never abandoned the story. God knows exactly what he's doing. God is writing with wisdom. He is writing with clarity, he is writing with love, he is writing with purpose. And one day, when you look back, you're going to see that the chapter you want to skip so bad became the one that God revealed his faithfulness the most clearly to you. So I'm telling you, keep on trusting, keep on believing because there is more to your story. Let us go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, hallelujah. We bless your name, O God. We thank you for this moment right now. Holy Father, we'd ask you to take charge and take over. Because we know that you are a faithful author of our lives. When we don't understand what you're doing, oh God, help us remember who you are. Honey Father, you are loving, wise, faithful, and good. Holy Father, I pray over every listener right now. For every listener carrying disappointment, write hope into their hearts. For every listener grieving right now, oh God, bring comfort into their story. For every listener who feels forgotten, oh God, remind them that you are fully known and deeply loving them right now. Because we are loved by you. Honey Father, let them know that they are not forgotten. God, you know them, you know them, you know them, oh God. Remind them that they are fully known and seen by you. God, please let them know that you see them. You see them for who they are. You believe in them for who they are. This is why you keep on writing on their pages and restoring the pages that they keep trying to tear out of the book, oh God. Honey Father, I pray right now that you let them see your faithful hand right now in their chapter, right now in their story, oh God. Honey Father, I just want to thank you that our identity is not defined by our failure, our fears, or our disappointment. But God, it is defined by your love and your grace. Honey Father, keep shaping each one of the listeners right now, oh God. God, I pray as they keep turning the pages of our lives, that they will bring you glory, oh God, because they become a testimony. Every time they turn a page, oh God. Every time they read a whole chapter, every time they get to a whole new series in their story, oh God, you get the glory, oh God. Honey Father, I pray that they will place their past, their present, and their future in your hands, oh God. Honey Father, I pray that you restore their faith, oh God. Honey Father, give them the strength to read the next page. Give them the wisdom to decipher the next page. Honey Father, let them hold on to what you're doing right now, oh God. God, give them the faith to keep walking by faith and not by sight. Honey Father, I pray that you continue to speak like never before. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Ooh, I thank you all for joining me right now. I guess about why. Sorry about that. But thank you. Ooh, I'm so sorry about that. Thank you all for joining me for another episode of I Curls Pray Ministries. As you lead today, I want you to carry this simple truth with you. You are too blessed to be stressed. You are too anointed to be disappointed. God is still writing your story. Do not give up. Do not quit. Hold on to God's unchanging hand. Until the next time, this is our curve. Let's pray, ministries.