I'm Not The Script Writer

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Every night of the play I wrote had gone well, then one night changed it all. There was a problem backstage and once that was taken care of we headed to our places. I took my place waiting for my cue, when I noticed on stage a new actor. This person had not rehearsed with us, he didn't know the part. Then as I listened for my cue, the script had been rewritten.

I was told he was given permission, but since I was the author and director I wondered why I wasn't informed. I accepted it,  since it would look bad to interrupt this scene. The next scene we will get back to the script the way it was written. But this was not the case the rest of the show was chaos. The audience never settled down and I ended up in tears.

Luckily, this was a dream but it sent me a good message "I'm not the script writer of my life."

2020 has shown us that we indeed are not the script writers, but neither are other people. 

Maybe you thought you'd be married by now....

Maybe your plan was to be able to move out on your own...

Maybe you thought you'd be working...

Maybe you planned to have your dream wedding...

Maybe you thought married life would make your life wonderful...

Maybe your plan was to have a baby...

Maybe you thought you would have your dream vacation...

Maybe your plan was to have a graduation ceremony...

Maybe you thought you could worship in church...

Maybe you planned for someone to recover...

Our plans don't always go the way we scripted it out. Sometimes someone comes in and rewrites the script causing chaos. What are we to do when life seems to spiraling out of control? Go to the one who can keep things in control.

God has good plans for us. He doesn't want to harm us. God is our hope and our future. Even when our script changes, God has a better one written for us because we are not the script writers.

The Root of Bitterness

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:13-14 NIV

Have you ever held a grudge against someone? Maybe you have tried to forgive them, but as soon as you hear this person's name you cringe at the thought of him/her. It feels even worse when you see this person in the flesh, you might want to lash out irrationally. Or at the very least remind this person how much he/she hurt you.

Believe it or not, I have held onto this root of bitterness. I tried with all my might to forgive this person, but for some reason all those feelings of hurt come back up as soon as this person's name is mentioned. I thought I had forgiven this person, because I prayed about him/her to God but somehow the devil still had a foothold.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?

Jesus answered, "I tell you not seven times, but seventy-seven times." Matthew 18:21-22

I wondered how many times must I asked God to help me forgive this person, even when there are times this person still lashes out or turns others against me. From what I have read in scriptures, I need to continuously ask God to help my heart truly forgive.

Recently in a Bible study, I learned how one lady truly forgave. She would have to drive by this person's home almost daily and she would cringe, and God told her to pray for this person. Eventually, when she drove by this person's home she would no longer cringe. She even found herself not cringing when someone said this person's name or when she saw this person. She discovered the root of bitterness was gone.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive you. Matthew 6:14-15

One of the most important reasons to forgive is so God can forgive you. I don't know about you, but having God not forgive me would scare me. I make mistakes daily, sometimes hourly if I couldn't ask God to forgive me then I don't think it would go well for me. I would no longer feel His presence and have His peace even in the midst of craziness.  I am sure His blessings would soon stop as well.

I am far from rich. I am far from having all of my wants. But I do indeed receive God's blessings. The blessing of my family, my friends, a job, my health, a home, enough food to eat (sometimes too much)...God may not bless me with all the things I want, but He does indeed bless me with the things I need. Without God's blessings I live in a state of panic.

In order to receive His blessings, I need to follow His plans for me. One of these plans is to forgive this person I have a grievance over. No matter how many times this person offends, I will continually go to God and ask for Him to help me to truly forgive and remember his/her sins no more just as God does for me.

Maybe there is someone in your life that you need to ask God to help you forgive. Maybe when this person offends again, you can pray for him/her instead of watering the bitter root. Soon you will find this root had been picked from your garden and in it's place a beautiful garden is flourishing. I believe my root of bitterness is being pruned and the garden is growing.