Trusting God's Story Over Your Own

In our digital age, it's becoming increasingly difficult to know what's real and what's fake. With AI technology creating convincing videos and content, we find ourselves questioning everything we see and hear. This culture of mistrust can seep into our faith, making it challenging to trust God and His story for our lives.

What Does It Mean to Trust God's Story?

The Gospel of Matthew presents us with a powerful encounter between Jesus and a rich young man that illustrates the fundamental choice we all face: Will we trust God's story for our lives, or will we insist on writing our own?

The Rich Young Man's Question

A wealthy young man approached Jesus with a question that many of us have asked: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" This man had everything by worldly standards - wealth, status, and apparent righteousness - yet he recognized something was missing from his life.

Jesus' response is telling. Rather than speaking about future eternal life, Jesus talks about experiencing life now. He doesn't say "you will enter life someday," but "if you want to enter life" - present tense. The abundant life Jesus offers isn't just a future promise; it's available here and now.

Which Commandments Should I Follow?

When Jesus tells the young man to keep the commandments, the man asks, "Which ones?" This is a relatable question. With 613 laws in the Torah, it's natural to want clarity about what God expects.

Jesus distills it down to the Ten Commandments, but notice something interesting - He doesn't list all of them, and He lists them in an unusual order. Jesus never did anything by accident. He was intentionally driving the young man toward a deeper understanding, but the man missed it.

The young man's response reveals his frustration: "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Many of us can relate to this feeling - we're doing everything we think God wants, yet we still feel like something's missing.

Why Do Good People Still Feel Empty?

The Real Issue Revealed

Jesus, in His grace and love, points directly to what's keeping this man from experiencing the life he desires: "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

The word "perfect" here doesn't mean flawless - it means complete or content. Jesus is saying, "If you want to be truly complete, if you want to experience the life you're seeking, here's what's standing in your way."

The Choice Between Two Stories

Jesus was challenging this young man to evaluate whose story he was actually living. Was he truly living God's story, or was he living his own story that just happened to include some religious practices?

When given the opportunity to step into the abundant life he claimed to want, the young man chose to believe that Jesus was asking him to go backward in life. He saw God's invitation as missing out rather than stepping into something better.

What Is God's Story Really About?

The Very Good Beginning

God's story begins in Genesis 1 with a God who enters chaos and brings shalom - wholeness and peace. Everything God created, He declared "good." But when He created humanity, He formed us with His own hands and breathed life into us, making us special - the crown jewel of His creation. After creating mankind, God looked at everything and declared it "very good."

The Lie That Changed Everything

The serpent introduced a lie that humanity has believed ever since: "God doesn't want you to have that because He knows you'll become like Him. God doesn't have your best interests at heart. He's trying to control you and hold you back. You need to take control and write your own story."

This is the same lie the rich young man believed - that God's story wasn't good for him, that he'd be missing out if he followed Jesus completely.

The Promise of Restoration

But God's story doesn't end with the fall. We're living in the middle of a restoration chapter. Revelation 21 tells us how this story ends: God will dwell with His people, wipe away every tear, eliminate death and pain, and make everything new. This is the trustworthy and true story Jesus invites us into.

Which Story Are You Living?

There are only two stories being told about who God is and what He's up to in the world:

The second story always leads to the same place the rich young man found himself - surrounded by everything you thought would bring joy and fulfillment, yet still feeling empty and missing something essential.

Life Application

Jesus calls each of us to trust His story rather than insisting on writing our own. This week, examine your life honestly. What things are you allowing to separate your heart from God's heart? What are you pursuing that you believe will bring you joy, peace, and contentment apart from God?

The challenge isn't to eliminate good things from your life, but to recognize when those things have become your ultimate priority - when you've made yourself the hero of your own story rather than trusting God's very good story for your life.

Questions for Reflection:

Remember, Jesus said that with man, experiencing the abundant life He offers is impossible. It's only possible with God, and only when we're willing to lay down the things that separate us from His heart and trust His very good story for our lives.