Why Your Willpower Will Never Be Enough to Accomplish Your Dreams

We are told that we are the author of our own life story.

“So make it a good one,” they say.

We are told that our children are blank slates, and we as parents write on their hearts through our parenting and through our “present-ness” in their lives.

But do we actually wield this much power?

Are We the Author of Our Own Life Story?

I’ll never forget the first time my dear friend and blogging bestie Mandy first saw her name in print in a book.

She was ecstatic!

It was her dream to become an author, and this was a small glimpse of that dream coming true. I rejoiced with her, because I knew what that felt like.

Yet, while she worked diligently at her dream of authoring a book, there was another Author at work in her life.

She had seen other dreams come true in her life; but the story behind those dreams coming true were not written in a way that she would have ever authored.

Her dream to become a wife happened much later than she had wanted.

Her dream to become a mother happened in a much different way than she would have ever chosen.

Her dream for adopting a child fell through a couple of times before she was certain that she could safely hold baby Judah forever in her arms and in her heart.

Most certainly, she would have never penned the ending of her story the way it happened.

No, I do not believe that Mandy was the author of her own life story.

Someone else was holding that pen.

And yet, when we read Worshipful Living, we see how she understood that through all of the trials and disappointments, God was molding and shaping her life.

She understood that the journey to the dream—albeit filled with twists, turns, detours and potholes—was as important as the destination, because it taught her much about God. It taught her much about faith. It taught her much about herself and areas of growth and maturity that were still needed in her life.

Who Is the Author of Our Life Story?

As a part of my daily prayer, I like to write down names of God. Some of the names are borrowed from Scripture, some of them are descriptions of what God is and means to me.

Yesterday, I wrote down “Author of My Life”, before I even really thought about what that meant.

The more I pondered on this, the more I realized how true this is.

As much as we work to accomplish our own dreams and plans, “life” happens. Reversals take place. Circumstances beyond our control occur, and we’re forced to comply with them…accept them…make peace with them.

And if these circumstances are beyond our control, we must conclude that we, in fact, are not the author of our life.

Something bigger is at play here.

Scripture says, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord will stand” (Prov. 19:21).

The word “counsel” in the Hebrew means “purpose” or “plan.”

Our Life Is Not Our Own

Why would God give us a will to choose if He is the author of our life?

We can choose to follow His purpose and plan for our lives, or rebel. Rebellion, however, never ends well for us; because there is another figure in all of this who has another purpose and plan for our lives.

“The thief does not come, except to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Which story will we choose?

Life abundantly or a life of destruction?

Mandy chose well.

She knew she was not the author of her life. She knew her Creator had held the pen in His almighty hand eternity before and had already written the pages of her life before she was ever born.

“Your eyes saw me unformed, yet in Your book all my days were written, before any of them came into being” (Ps. 139:16).

She knew it was up to her to live a life of worship—a life that daily brought glory and honor to Jesus Christ.

And she did that well.

And that is what we can learn from her life—and her graduation day.

To daily make the choice to live within the story God has written and through that story to live a life that daily glorifies, honors and worships Him.

This is worshipful living! {eoa}

Rosilind, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her hero. Together they live in the country with their  two active boys, where she enjoys fruity candles and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. She holds an associates of practical theology and is passionate about discipling and encouraging women. Her passion for writing led her to author a number of books. She is the author of A Little R & R where she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. She can also be found at these other places on a regular basis. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.