Dear Christian, God's Written Your Character Arcs

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s looked at my life and seen all the places where I’ve gone wrong.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s seen all the things I need to work on (keeping up with this blog being one of them!).

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s looked in the mirror and thought to myself, this isn’t who I wanted myself to be at *insert age*.

I’m sure we’ve all gone through that at one time or another. The raw truth is that life is a long, hard journey. You may be in the valley of discouragement right now. You may be struggling with something only you know. You may feel like you're not the person you want to be—the person who’s living and breathing for Christ. You may feel like you’re not enough.

If so, this blog post is for you. Because admittedly, I’ve felt that way. A lot. But I’ve learned from experience that in shining the light of Truth in all those places, the shadows melt away.

First of all, God’s got a plan for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Within context, the verse is a reminder to the exiles. They were torn from their land, Jerusalem, by King Nebuchadnezzar, and brought to Babylon. They were probably suffering greatly under the hand of the king. But it was a reminder, even in the darkest of times, that there was hope. That God was watching over them.

And the same God who never forgot the Israelites in the wilderness or the exiles torn from Jerusalem has a plan for you. He’s got everything in His hands—even when it’s incomprehensible or you can’t see it yet.

Making the decision to trust Him and His plan is so worth it, but (and I know from experience!) so hard. After all, us humans have our own sin nature—one that automatically opposes anything that doesn’t logically make sense.

But look at the Bible. Trusting Him with your life—and not just knowing, but trusting He has a plan and He’s working everything out—is the first step. And a very important one, at that.

Secondly, you’re a work-in-progress—God’s written your character arc(s). You’re on a journey to learning His truths and becoming who He wants you to be.

The song “God’s Not Done With You” by Tauren Wells illustrates the beauty of how we are all work-in-progresses in God’s hands:

God’s not done with you // Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars // God’s not done with you // Even when you’re lost and it’s hard and you’re falling apart

And how God directs every life experience, even the dark times, to bringing us to a place of growth as warriors for His kingdom:

There’s a light you don’t notice // Until you’re standing in the dark // There’s a strength that’s growing // Inside your shattered heart

For those writers like me, we spend hours fleshing out character arcs. Positive character arcs follow the character’s journey from embracing a Lie (a lie about life, or God, that they believe and affects them in a negative way) to a series of events that grow them as people, until by the end, they are able to embrace the Truth that goes contrary to that Lie.

In some ways, our lives are like character arcs. We’re characters living in this great book called life—where God is the master Author. We start off characters on a broken road, clinging to Lies at various points in time, Lies that we think will give us fulfillment. But in reality, they’re destroying us and warping the way we see life—and God.

God skillfully directs our plot—the people we meet, the challenges we face, the experiences we go through—to bring us to slow realizations of our sin nature and those Lies we’re holding onto. To a point where maybe we’re even willing to sacrifice our Lies for God’s Truth—and fix that shattered perspective we held onto in the beginning. But we’re still not perfect—far from it, really. But at least we’re growing closer to Him and His Truths to become warriors for His kingdom.

And He does it over and over and over again—not until we’re perfect, because we never will be—but we keep learning and growing as people, as servants of Christ.

It’s a really beautiful thing to see and experience. But it all starts with trust. Trusting in His plan, and being willing to grow through this story called life.

Thirdly, He’s left you a guidebook.

Continuing with the character arc and story analogy, God didn’t leave you all alone on this journey—far from it, in fact. He’s left you with His Word—the Bible. The guidebook to living and growing as people and as Christians—and being the person God has called you to be.

I’ve said this many times, but I’ll say it again: Read. the. Bible. So often, I’ve found myself skipping over the Bible, when it really does hold the key to growing in your relationship with Christ. Even reading just a few pages and taking notes can reveal so much and shift the way I view the world. So definitely don’t skip reading over the Bible—it is your guidebook of sorts, after all.

So overall, dear Christian, you are growing as a person, even through all the hardships and trials and the dark nights. You’re going through character arcs of your own, and it’s all directed by God’s hand.

There is hope. Keep going. Fighting for Christ—and being a warrior for Him right where you are.

Because He will never give up on you—so don’t give up on yourself.

P.S. What are some areas where God is helping you grow? How have you grown in the past as a person? Any bit of this article stands out to you in particular? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

And as promised in a previous blog post, if you could answer a few quick questions on how I'm doing blog-content-wise, please do so here!