IT’S God’S STORY, FROM BEGINNING TO END

​12/22/23
 
A couple nights ago while i was in the mood for a Christmas movie, i found a list of them online, and the one i prayerfully selected was the 2019 portrayal of the Louisa May Alcott classic, Little Women.  It was a strange choice for a number of reasons, first because i’m male and the principal characters are all female; it’s mainly a story about women’s hearts and minds and the choices they make as they mature.  It isn’t really a Christmas story, although much of the story is set in winter and several of the key scenes unfold at Christmastime.  And it isn’t overtly a Christian story either, although it reflects Christian values and contrasts a godly mother with a worldly aunt.
 
Not until the movie was almost over did i grasp that its principal character was an author seeking to get her manuscript published.  Only then did i realize that my choice of the movie wasn’t accidental and that God was preparing to say something to me about getting His manuscript published.  But i had no idea what He wanted to say, so i asked Him to speak to me about that.
 
This morning i awoke praising Jesus that He is Who He claims to be, the alpha and omega, the source and fulfillment of all things.  When i turned my thoughts toward Little Women, i saw that the publisher in the movie wielded God-like authority over the manuscript.  Although the author was free to write whatever she wanted, it was the publisher who determined how the story ended and the outcome of her work.
 
That insight was profound.  For weeks i’d been thinking that a man i recently met would become the publisher of the book that God had written through me.  But suddenly i realized that man was no more the publisher than i was the author.  Just as God Himself was the author, God Himself was the publisher.  He might work through me to write it and work through others to publish it, but the book is God’s idea and only He knows what He wants to do with it.  Like the Little Women publisher, God will be the One Who determines how this story ends and the outcome of the book in people’s lives.
 
Although the book is already written, there’s a lot more work to be done and isn’t just editing, printing and distribution.  The most important piece is how God works through the book to reveal His heart and draw His children nearer to Him.  The publisher and i will have front row seats as that unfolds, but since God is in charge He may end up using the book in ways we didn’t imagine.
 
This morning after i pondered that, God led me to read a prophetic word in my calendar, which He first gave me fourteen years ago today.
 
Out of your death to every worldly aspiration springs new life.  This is Christ, the righteous branch, raising Himself to life in you.  Through faith your new life in Christ will bear fruit because I will it to be so, and because your fruitfulness glorifies Me.  I’ll anoint you to bestow a father’s blessing on others and bring My Father’s heart to My children.  I the Lord will do this.  12/22/09
 
When i realized this word applies to the book, i immediately surrendered all my aspirations to God.  i gave Him whatever desire i might still be harboring to prove myself as a writer or a speaker or to be recognized or respected by others.  It really doesn’t matter to me how many people read or hear about the book; i just want God to be glorified.  i prayed that God would use the book to bathe people in His love as a Father and His devotion as a Son, and free them to engage Him with intimacy and power.