I was caught up short, convicted. Is it really my story? Is it really your story? Or is it Jesus’s story?

“You yourselves bear me witness, that I said,
‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’
The one who was the bride is the bridegroom.
The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.”
John 3:28, 29 (bolding mine)

John the Baptist understood his purpose. The above words are his response to his disciple’s worrisome observation about all the people going to Jesus for baptism.

John knew his story. He embraced his purpose. His story was really Jesus’s story.

“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” Patrick Rothfuss, author.

As a believer, my story … your story should be about Jesus. As image bearers, we should be reflecting Jesus; we should be reflecting truth, reflecting the glory of God.

John used the illustration of the bridegroom and the one who stands with the bridegroom (the best man, in our modern understanding). The best man hears the bridegroom’s voice, I do. He hears the promise; and he rejoices WITH the bridegroom.

Not only does he recognize the joy of the bridegroom, his joy is also now complete.

Is that what my story sounds like?
Is my story telling Jesus’s story?
I am experiencing joy in my story?

And that’s where my journals come in. Have I told you about my journals? They are an integral part of my devotional time.

Yup, I regularly keep two journals. The spiral bound one with the picture of the bird will get used up in about six months. This journal records my miscellaneous thoughts. Some of those thoughts will journey into this blog some day (see the colored tabs).

The other is my leather journal, my scripture journal, my prayer journal, my most important journal. This is the journal where I make space for God and I hear his voice. This is the journal that offers God’s perspective. It gets used, not used up.

This journal turns my story into Jesus’s story.

It’s divided into sections, each containing scriptures that lead my prayer life: my identity, my purpose, the lies I tend to believe and God’s truth, the scriptures I pray for my husband, our sons and their wives, our GRANDS.

“… Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3: 29, 30

Copyright: Sue Tell, March 2024