The Next Right Thing A Devotional By Emily P. FreemanSample

Day 3

Name Your Life’s Narrative

Genesis 2:19

Names mean things. They carry weight and importance and intimacy. To know a person’s name is to know something of them. 

Maybe a reason why a particular decision you are carrying today feels difficult is because there are things beneath the surface that remain unnamed within you, things you either haven’t acknowledged or would rather ignore. When something within us remains unnamed, we simply don’t have enough information or self-knowledge to move forward.

Without a name, we can’t be specific. And there’s nothing fear likes more than non-specificity. We have an enemy who loves to cloud our minds with a vague sense of anxiety. No wonder we can’t make a decision.

How do you name the narrative of your life? All stories have an arc, and your arc can be one of hope even though it may have had its share of hopelessness. It can be one of faith even though the characters may have shaken their fists and yelled at the top of their lungs. It can be joyful even when the people are broken. 

Within each narrative there are almost always shadows of gray. And it’s important to name those too. That’s what makes your life a narrative and not just a plot point.

We often don’t give our narratives much thought. We just let time roll into itself, day after week after year. And then we realize, when we look back, that our story has changed. Our work today is to take a moment and notice the narrative, open it up in the presence of God, and allow him to be with us, to gently confront false beliefs and to provide us with the peace of his presence. The darkness can invite us into a mystery, a place where we don’t know the answers. Still, our experiences carry within them a narrative of hope. They just haven’t lived into the whole story yet.

Wherever you are in your own story, name it. This is an important part of decision making and key to taking the next right step in love. See today honestly for what it is, but don’t confuse the moment for the whole story.

Father, for all the ways we’ve experienced healing, we know there is still much within us that remains unseen and unnamed. Give us the courage to face what we have so long tried to ignore.