Step Into My StoryExemplo

God created and equipped us uniquely for the story He planned for us. But what about those who have chosen to remove God from their story, or maybe have done so without noticing?

Yes, a person CAN be "successful" without having God in their life. However, contrary to what some may want to believe, our stories are not determined by how successful we are. This is why you will see so many reaching the pinnacle of success only to fall hard.

As our lives continue to grow, we take on more and more: more responsibility, more decisions, more “stuff.” All the “more” overloads us, and we find that without God, we are forced to take on things that we cannot handle on our own. We want to take all the credit for the good in life, but we cannot hold the baggage that comes with it. We want to prove to people that we can carry the world when, really, it’s crushing us. There is a word used to describe wanting all the credit or insisting we can handle everything on our own… PRIDE.

When we remove God from our story—intentionally or not—we insert pride. I encourage you to read about Samson in Chapters 13-16 of Judges for a great example. To summarize, Samson did things the way HE wanted. He had an incredible gift, and he used it to glorify himself until he eventually lost it. Not because God took it away, but because in his pride, he gave it away.

Have you, like Samson, given away your gift? Are you close to removing God from your story and replacing Him with pride?

If so, there are three things you NEED to know.

1. You're not the only one. Temptation works best when we don't realize it's happening, and pride is the sneakiest of them all! Our only defense is to constantly praise God for who He is and what HE has done in our story.
2. It's not too late. Read to the end of Samson's story. You will find that God honored a humble heart and used Samson to fulfill an incredible purpose. You can bounce back. Embrace humility, and desire the glory of God to be shown rather than the glory of yourself.
3. Your story is not about you… but that is for tomorrow's study.