Have you ever watched one of those nature documentaries? Typically, there’s beautiful scenery, interesting animals, and a narrator. The narrator is this disembodied voice who explains to the audience what they’re seeing. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the animal didn’t do anything? There wouldn’t be much to narrate! But when there’s action on the part of the animal, things get exciting and the narrator uses colorful wording to increase the excitement.
But, I’m sure you’ve watched a movie before and (most of them) don’t have narrators. In these, the story could be anything. Anything, that is, that the writer and/or director wants it to be. The camera is on the actors, but the actors are not like the animals in the documentary; they’re not free to do whatever they want— only what the director allows.
Let me ask you something: do you see your life as a documentary or a movie? Or, more importantly: is God your narrator or director?
This week, James tells us,
“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil“ (James 4:13–16).
When we do the first and not the second, that is seeing God as our narrator. In this way of seeing the world, we’re in charge, we’re setting the agenda, deciding what’s important and what to pursue. It looks like the path to success, fortune, and joy. But the reality is, it leaves us broken, hurting, and dissatisfied. If I were to ask you if your life turned out the way you wanted, you’d probably say “yes and no” or “no” but few would be able to say “yes” and have no caveats. Maybe there are parts of our lives that were what we wanted, but so much of our lives are outside of our control. So much of our life isn’t us causing the action and God narrating it. Instead, most of life is written by forces outside of our control.
But this can actually be good news for us. Even if your life hasn’t gone the way that you wanted it to or even if you have tried to write your story yourself, we can know and rest in this truth: God is the writer and the director. Yes, there are things that have happened to us that was not God’s doing (see James 1:13–15, for an example), but he is the One who is still ultimately in control.
Please, let go of the idea that God is just narrating your story and take the role that he has for you in his story. It will change your life.
