by Tamera Lynn Kraft
When I was young, I loved to read anything I could get my hands on, but my favorite types of stories were adventures where an ordinary young person was thrust on a quest of epic proportions. These stories resonant with us for a reason. We all want to think our lives count for something, no matter how insignificant they may seem. We all want to live a life of purpose that is somehow bigger than anything we can see.
We may not realize it, but God has written an epic adventure for each of our lives. According to Jeremiah 29:11, He has plans and purposes for us to give us a hope and a future. If we cooperate with His plans, God will use each of us in ways we never dreamed. Here are seven ways your life is like an adventure novel.
You are not insignificant to God. No matter where you are, or how life has treated you, God knows your name, and He knows where you live. He put you there for a purpose to fulfill your destiny. The Bible, the greatest adventure story of them all, is filled with seemingly insignificant people who do great things for God. David, Gideon, and many of the disciples make that list. Hebrews 11, the heroes of the faith chapter, doesn’t even name some of the heroes it who it says the world was not worthy of.
A Quest Has Obstacles. We’d all love to have more adventure in our lives provided we don’t have to go through any pain or face any obstacles, but every adventure story has insurmountable obstacles the hero must overcome. We have obstacles to face as well. Whenever we read adventure novels, we know the main characters will overcome those obstacles even though we can’t figure out how. When we face obstacles, we have a promise from God that He has overcome the world.
The hero is pure in heart. The hero in an adventure story will make mistakes, He’ll get discouraged. He’ll make wrong turns. But he won’t give up because he has a heart to do right and make a difference. To be the hero of God’s adventure, you also need a pure heart, a heart after God. God called King David a man after His own heart. David wasn’t perfect. He committed grievous sins. But he was also quick to repent because he wanted a pure heart.
A hero is loyal. Every quest has a hero who is loyal to both his friends and to the quest. He won’t give up on either. We need that kind of loyalty to God and to the quest He has sent us on if we are to fulfill what He’s called us to do. So many give up on God or on the adventure He’s called them to because things get hard.No matter how hard things get, remember that God is writing your story. Don’t give up.
A hero puts others above himself. In adventure novels, a hero is self-sacrificing. He pours out his life for others and is even willing to die for them. As Christians in God’s adventure story, we should also be willing to place others before ourselves.
Our happy ending isn’t here on Earth. Adventure novels always have happy endings. Even if the hero dies in the end, he always fulfills his quest. It doesn’t seem to work out that way in real life, but this isn’t all there is. Our quest isn’t over when we die. Our happy ending is in eternity when we will live forever in the presence of God.
Word Sharpeners 