Episode #167 Painful Experiences Weighing You Down? Exchange Lesser Stories for a Greater One! – Significant Stories

Hey friends, it's Jen, we're in this series, looking at the significance of stories and how stories impact how we live our daily lives. One of the reasons that we're doing this is because we store stories in our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 says,

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)

The way that we perceive and process and understand events in our lives, those become stories that we repeat.
That we tell other people about who we are.

That we tell ourselves to describe our identity and our value and our anticipation for our future.

These stories are stored within our hearts, in our thoughts, in our emotions, in our feelings, and in our memories. And it's important that we guard our hearts. And so in this series I'm walking us through this workflow of assessing, taking a fresh look at the stories that we tell ourselves and identifying in partnership with God, if this is a greater story, a story that belongs or a lesser one that we can then recognize and reject.

And we're in the last step of this workflow today. And so if you are just joining us now, I encourage you to go back. This whole process started in episode 161.

And now we're at questions seven and eight. Now question seven is: Is it time to ditch the story? And question eight is: If the story was a lesser one, what true story are you replacing it with?

And I'm putting both of these together because, for a lot of us, we know at this point, okay, that story is a lesser one. And this last step is vital.

Maybe you've been living that story for a few days, or maybe it's been a few decades. Whatever that is, there are ways that you have accepted that story before.

And so part of removing it and rejecting it is actually replacing it with what is really true. We talked in episode 160 about repentance and how repentance is simply thinking again and choosing a different course. So if that's hard for you, I encourage you to check out that episode as well.

That's what we're doing here. We're saying, Hey Lord, I'm thinking again and choosing differently. Forgive me for ways that I believed this false thing about me, this false thing about you. I reject that, and I want to receive your truth. What is the true story that you want to give me instead?

Oftentimes, the lesser stories we believe are just blatantly false. But sometimes they have truth to them, it's just a lesser truth.

I mentioned in an earlier episode, the life of Joseph, and one of the key painful moments in his story was when Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery.

But God used the story for good and not just for Joseph, but for all the people of Israel. See, Joseph ended up placed second in command to Pharaoh in seasons of famine. And so his family comes to Egypt, being surprised to find him there as the one who holds their fate in his hands because they are out of food.

And I'm going to read just a small part of this story in Genesis 50.

“Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, ‘Behold, we are your servants.’ But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:17b-21)

See, it was true that his brothers had sold him into slavery.
It was true that they had intended things for evil in his life.

But it was also true that what they meant for evil, God used for good.

It was also true that God cared for Joseph as he went through those excruciating years of slavery.

It was also true that Joseph could forgive his brothers and extend God's kindness to them because he had access to all of the provision of Egypt.

Sometimes the enemy would try and have us focus on the lesser story and really just hold to that thing because it's true. But holding on to that angst would have been a lesser story for Joseph. And he would have missed the greater story of how God cared for him. Of how God used that circumstance to position him for good.

He didn't have to ignore or pretend the evil wasn't there. He could call it what it was. He also could live according to the greater story.

We also get to live from the greater stories.

And this question is so important to ask God because we need to hear Him affirm His truth to our hearts.

I'm applying this process to some lesser stories that I've believed about anxiety. My approach in the past has been, I shouldn't be anxious, and so I'm going to avoid this topic to try and avoid the anxiety. That's a lesser story.
What's true, what's true in scripture, what's true of God's character and nature and of who I am in God is that when I am anxious, I can cast those cares on him. The greater story includes the reality that I don't have to avoid hard things to try and not be anxious. I'm going to learn how to navigate this circumstance knowing that God is with me.

[Note: The stories we live and believe are all different. Seek God’s direction on how to upgrade from lesser stories to greater ones in your life. This can include seeking trusted support and professional help from others.]

And so we're bringing this conversation to the Lord. And if this feels hard for you in this moment, I have another resource I'm putting here in the show notes that will continue to help you on this journey.

I know God will walk you through this. And so here's our question to take to him:

God, I know this story is a lesser one, what is the true story that I can replace it with?

And I highly encourage you to say the true thing out loud.
Continue talking with God about this as you recognize and reject those lesser stories and live more fully, more vibrantly according to the greater ones.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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