Sometimes I get so excited about what someone says I start composing a devotional in my head while they are speaking. 🙂 This happened a few weeks ago when my friend began to share during our evening ladies Bible study.

We were studying the death and resurrection of Lazarus, and how his sisters, Mary and Martha, didn’t understand why Jesus didn’t come as soon as they sent for Him.

Their brother was deathly ill. They knew Jesus could heal him with one word. They had seen Jesus heal before, and believed He would do it again.

And yet Jesus acted out of character. He didn’t come.

Lazarus died. How could Jesus let this happen?

As we worked our way through the lesson, we talked about trusting God even when we don’t understand what He is doing.

At this point my friend shared some wisdom I want to pass on to you. She writes historical fiction, and spoke of the characters in her story.

“There’s a lot of bad stuff happening to the characters in my book. But I’m not worried about them, because I know the end of their story. I know how it’s all going to turn out.”

It’s the perfect illustration of how we should look at our lives when things are falling apart.

We know that God loves us and will do what’s best for us—we’ve read it in Scripture and heard it in countless sermons.

But then bad things start to happen. The doctor’s diagnosis isn’t what we want to hear. The job offer falls through. Relationships come to an abrupt and heart-rending end.

Where is God in all of this? Why isn’t He moving His mighty hand to save and deliver?

The simple answer is, we don’t know. Our finite minds cannot comprehend the workings of an infinite God.

But we do know this—God is the author of our lives. He is writing our story, and He knows how it’s going to end. He knows every twist and turn in the plot, every high and low. He knows what is going to happen, and He is in control. Just as the end of the story isn’t a surprise to Him, neither are the plot twists a shock to Him.

Even though we can’t see the end of the story, it will be for our good and His glory. We can trust the Author of our lives to bring all the trials and heartbreak to a joyous conclusion.

So how do we trust the Author of our story?

How do we remain calm when we don’t know how the story is going to turn out?

To trust the Author of our story, we must know His character. 

And I’m not talking about how much we know about God, but the depth of relationship we have with Him.

Think about the person on earth you trust the most. Why do you trust them?

Because you know them. Because you’ve spent much time with them and you know their heart.

It’s the same with God. The more time you spend with Him, the more you know Him.

And the more you know Him, the more you trust Him. 

My friend, if you’re facing some plot twists today—some things you didn’t expect to show up in the story of your life—don’t panic.

Rest in the knowledge that the Author of your life will bring your story to a joyous and peaceful conclusion.

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” {Job 23:10}