What Story Are You Living In?

What Story Are You Living In?
You have a story.
You might not realize it, but you’ve been telling yourself a version of your life story—who you are, how you got here, and where you’re going.
The question is: Is the story true?
 
Some people tell themselves they’re a failure. Others believe they’re self-made. Some think they’ll always be the outsider, the overlooked, the forgotten. Others believe they were born for greatness.
But here’s the truth: the story you tell yourself shapes your life. And if you’re living in the wrong story, you’ll never step into the life God actually has for you.
The Stories That Keep Us Stuck
 
The Israelites had a story. God had split the Red Sea, fed them with manna, led them by fire and cloud—but when things got tough, what did they say?
    “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full…” (Exodus 16:3)
Translation? We were better off as slaves. We are slaves.
That story—false as it was—kept an entire generation from entering the Promised Land. Not because God didn’t want them there, but because they couldn’t see themselves as free. They still thought like slaves.
And that’s the danger.
If you believe the wrong story about yourself, you’ll live like it’s true—even when it’s not.
How many of us are doing the same thing?

• God calls you redeemed, but you keep living like you’re still guilty.
• God calls you chosen, but you still act like you don’t belong.
• God calls you His child, but you still live like an orphan, hustling for approval.

The enemy doesn’t need to take you out—he just needs to get you to believe the wrong story. Because the story you believe determines the life you live.
Jesus Came to Rewrite Your Story
 
I remember when I finished Air Force basic training at Lackland.
For those weeks, I felt no less than a prisoner. Every step was dictated. Every word was controlled. Every second belonged to someone else. But when I graduated, everything changed—or at least, it was supposed to.
I had to stay on that same base for my next phase of training, tech school. And even though I was free, my body didn’t believe it. Every time I saw one of those Training Instructors (TIs), I froze up, because my whole body still believed I was in basic training. I was acting like a prisoner, even though I was free.
And that’s exactly what happens to us spiritually.
When we’ve lived our lives as slaves to sin and our sinful nature, even after Christ sets us free, we still have to practice living in that new story.
    “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
You are free. But sometimes, freedom takes practice.
That’s why we need to immerse ourselves in truth. This is the best reason I know to go to church—to remember who God is, what He’s done, and who we are in light of what He’s done for us.
He paid the price. He changed your story.
Now keep teaching your body what your spirit already knows: You are free.
Your story is a story of freedom.
Time to Step into a New Story
 
What’s the story you’ve been telling yourself?
Where does it need to change?
Maybe you’ve been stuck in a story of fear, like the spies who said, We are like grasshoppers in their eyes (Numbers 13:33). Maybe you’ve been living in a story of shame, like the woman caught in adultery (John 8:10-11). Maybe you’ve been holding onto a story of control, afraid to trust God fully (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Whatever it is, it’s time to let Jesus rewrite your story.
 
Because He’s already written a better one.
And in His story, you’re not stuck. You’re not forgotten. You’re not too far gone.
You’re chosen. Redeemed. Free.
Now go live like it.
Your Turn
What’s the story you’ve been believing? What truth do you need to start telling yourself instead? Comment below—We’d love to hear how God is rewriting your story.