Who Holds the Narrative?

“And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?””
Genesis 3:11

It’s important to identify who is telling your story. Whoever holds the narrative in your life holds your perception of reality. And out of that - your functionality, and ultimately your destiny. Many times, mainstream media and news outlets have an agenda - showing you only what they want you to see because they know that what you see determines what you perceive as reality. In other words, they want to tell your story! So the question then becomes, what voice is telling your story?

Years ago, a friend of mine had a tragic event happen in his life where he got lost in the desert and the guy he went with ended up dying. My friend ended up got rescued and later, while at home, the news media came to interview him.

What he and his family thought was a good interview ended up getting edited and painted my friend in a pretty bad light.

It was then that they realized that the news can tell whatever story they want in order to fit their agenda. (I’m not a conspiracy theorist, I promise...but this did actually happen.)

The enemy would love to steal the narrative and distort your perception of reality...and, tell your story. The problem is that his mission is to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10) and I’m sure no one reading this wants that kind of future.

Has shame, hopelessness, fear, or even self-sufficiency been telling your story?

Or has faith, hope, and love from our loving Father been narrating it?

The truth is, whoever tells your story plays a huge role in determining the outcome of it.

We ultimately want the truth of God to tell our story.

To repeat:
Whoever holds the narrative in your life holds your perception of reality. 
And out of that - your functionality, and ultimately your destiny.

Here’s a few areas we need God’s truth to tell our story:

1. Our perception of God

In Genesis 3, the serpent painted a negative picture of God by, in essence, saying to Eve that God was holding out on them. 

He painted a deceptive “less than good” picture of who God is.

As a result, the first humans disobeyed God and their perception got distorted. They ran and hid from God because fear began to tell the story. 

A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.”

Instead of the inconsistencies of our emotions and distorted perceptions, we need the truth of God’s Word to inform our beliefs about who He is.

Both in Genesis 3:9 and in Luke 19:10 we see the truth that God never changes His love and pursuit of mankind regardless of our failures.

He is good.
He is love.
He is kind.

2. Our perception of ourselves

One of the most powerful questions God ever asked was “Who told you that you were naked?” (Gen. 3:11)

In other words, God asked Adam, “Who is telling your story? Who gave you your self-perception?”

“Who told you that you were ______________?” (you fill in the blank)

Where did we get our perception of who we are?

Follow that up with - Is that even true? Does what I believe about myself line up with what God says about me?

Forgiven.
Accepted.
Called.
Anointed.
Empowered.

3. Our perception of circumstances

Fear was driving the narrative in Adam & Eve’s lives...and it’s still trying to drive the narrative for many in 2021. 

Who’s telling the story in your circumstances?

There is hope.
Our God is the God of hope.
Nothing is impossible to him that believes.

Truth comes from Scripture.
Truth comes from what Jesus accomplished at the cross.
Truth comes from the Holy Spirit.
Truth comes through Godly counsel.

It’s time to yield to the truth of God and let Him hold the narrative.

Question: How have you experienced God narrating your life?

(For the whole message I preached at the Fire&Glory Outpouring, click here.)