When God Owns the Pen: Letting the Divine Author Write Your Story"

(A ladies tea talk with giggles and grace)

Faithfulness and obedience in every chapter leads to blessing in the next chapter.

Opening:

Ladies, welcome to our much-needed recess from laundry, emails, toddlers glued to our thighs, teenagers with stinky feet and stinkier attitudes, and that one sock that’s been sitting out on the dresser waiting for it’s long-lost mate to mysteriously reappear.

Today we’re talking about what happens when God writes your story.

We’re women. We love to plan. We’ve got color-coded calendars, Pinterest boards, meal plans, and a five-year vision. But sometimes God steps in and says, “Sweet daughter, that was cute. Now… watch Me!”

But let’s be honest—sometimes we just want to yank the pen out of God’s hands and do our own writing…which unfortunately often turns out looking like a toddler scribbled on the wall. But God? He’s the Greatest Author. He’s not just writing a story—He’s writing a bestseller. Full of plot twists, character development, and for good measure, He the occasionally throws in a villain with bad breath and a terrible personality.

So let’s sip our tea and get real about what it looks like when God owns the pen… even when the chapter we’re in feels like a cliffhanger without a safety net.

What kind of stories does God write?  Well, let’s have a look!

Let’s start with Ruth. Her story begins with a famine, a funeral, and a foreign land. Not exactly the dream beginning.

She marries into a family that ends up with three widows in one household. Not only is Ruth grieving, she’s about to embark on a journey to a place that’s unfamiliar, culturally awkward, and full of sorrow.

But Ruth makes a decision that doesn’t make sense on paper:

“Where you go, I will go; your people will be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

Ruth took a ginormous leap of faith and handed God the pen to write her story. She follows Naomi back to Bethlehem—not a great career move….a move that looked more like obedience than opportunity.

And what happens? Ruth, the Moabite outsider, ends up in the field of Boaz. She was just trying to find enough scraps to feed herself and her mother-in-law.   BUT GOD was orchestrating a love story that would lead to the lineage of Jesus Christ. He honored her obedience during the most difficult chapters of her life. He gave her a husband, a son, and placed her, an outsider, in the ancestry of Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

If your chapter is one filled with loss, poverty, and loneliness, God may be setting the stage for your legacy. He writes resurrection where we see only ruin.   If you’re in a Moab chapter, just know God is setting up a redemption chapter with your name in it…if you will hand Him the pen.

Let’s look at another story God wrote!

Esther: When You Feel Too Small for the Job

Esther was an orphan. She didn’t grow up in a palace—she grew up in obscurity. The beginning chapters of her life were filled with sorrows, loss of her parents, and being in captivity. I wonder how many times she wondered as a teenager whether her life would take on any meaning? How much she longed for her mother’s warm hugs and her father’s ridiculous dad jokes?  Although Mordecai was good to her, and she became like his own daughter, I’m sure there were times when her heart overflowed with sorrow for all she had lost. And yet, she too allowed God to masterfully write her story. She obediently steps up to enter a beauty pageant….I wonder if she had any premonition that she would soon become the Queen of Persia?

But God did not give Esther her crown so she could sit around eating fig newtons and adjusting her royal robes. No, she was chosen for a dangerous assignment: to risk her very life to save her people. God knew He could trust her to walk in obedience and save her nation from destruction, because of the obedient spirit she carried throughout her life.

When Mordecai reminds her:

“Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Esther could have said, “I didn’t sign up for this.” She could have grabbed the pen back out of God’s hands and refused. 

But instead, she fasts. She prays. She steps up.

And here’s what we learn: When God writes your story, He may position you in places of influence—not to be popular and admired, but so He can use YOUR courage to save your family, your church, or perhaps your nation.

When you feel you are in a chapter of being unprepared, unequipped, or unqualified, remember—you’re exactly where God needs you. Don’t take back the pen.  He may very well be preparing you for greatness.  

We’ve talked about some ladies, but let’s see some stories God wrote about men.

David: the forgotten poet

David wasn’t even invited to his own anointing party! Remember the Prophet Samuel shows up saying, “Line up the sons! God says one of them will be king!” and Jesse, David’s father is like, “Yeah they’re all here!” …knowing very well that his youngest son was somewhere in the meadow gazing at the cloud formations.

I wonder what that chapter felt like for Jesse.  As a father of 6 mighty warrior sons, who filled his heart with pride as they went to battle! These strong young men would fight and win wars!  But then there was the youngest.  The mama’s boy. The boy who wrote poetry and sang songs to the sheep.

I can only imagine the conversations Jesse and his wife had behind closed doors, “You’ve got to let me toughen him up!” 

“Aww, let him be my little boy just a little longer! He’s got the rest of his life to grow up!”

And then there were the WIIILD stories David came home with….like seriously? He grabbed a lion by the beard, pulled a sheep out of it’s mouth, and killed the lion by bopping it in the head?  He probably meant a fluffy rabbit…you know something’s not right with that boy’s head.

Can you blame Jesse for hiding David from the Prophet Samuel?  I’m sure he was protecting his family’s legacy by not letting this boy make an appearance.

BUT GOD was writing the story of David’s life.  HE saw the young boy in the field. HE heard his songs and watched how carefully he tended the sheep.  And God said, “That’s my king.”

After Samuel anoints David as the next king, everything was great!!! He immediately placed a royal crown on his head and gave him a royal scepter, right!?  Wrong….the difficult chapters were far from completion.

Let’s not forget: the road from the pasture to the palace was not smooth. There were years of hiding in caves, dodging spears, and crying out in psalms that sound a lot like our journals:

“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1)

Yet even in those wilderness chapters, God was shaping David—not just to wear the crown, but to carry the weight of leadership with humility.

We, like David, may feel overlooked, underestimated, or stuck babysitting sheep.  But the God who holds the pen might just be preparing you to lead in ways you could never imagine. In the meantime, sing your songs that only God appreciates, love your sheep well, (or your tiny-tornados and snack-monsters) and know that this chapter, although challenging, is written with grace and love and you are building a heritage.  

Remember that just because it’s not public doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. The quiet, lonely chapters are often the ones where God does His deepest work.

Peter: When You Mess Up the Chapter but God Doesn’t Close the Book

Now let’s not forget Peter. Bold, passionate, loyal Peter... who also happened to be impulsive, inconsistent, and a world-class foot-in-mouth expert.

Peter tells Jesus, “I’ll never deny You!” Yet mere hours later, he’s swearing he doesn’t even know Him—right after Jesus is arrested. And yet, when Jesus rises from the grave, He doesn’t come back with a lecture for Peter.

He comes back with breakfast.

“Peter, do you love Me?”

Three denials. Three affirmations. And then Jesus says, “Feed My sheep.”

Ladies, you may have failed in some of your chapters. You may be faltering in this chapter, but God is not finished. Even the parts of your story you wish you could rip out—He redeems. He restores. And He still calls you to lead. Because when we allow God to be the author and give Him control of the pen, he ALWAYS writes His grace into our story. And His grace is enough!

So What About You?

Maybe you’re in a chapter that doesn’t make sense. Maybe life has flipped the script, and the page you’re on feels heavy, confusing, or painfully silent. Your chapter may include caring for aging parents and all the stress and demands placed on you as a caregiver. Your chapter may BE living through your elder years and now requiring assistance.  You may feel there are more good days behind you than in front of you.

Or perhaps you are in a season of chaos, confusion, a storm.  This season may be bringing you disappointments, marriage difficulties, children or grandchildren making ungodly choices, hospital stays, or financial pressures. It may be endless days and nights of exhaustion, fear, grief, or despair. Or maybe it’s a boring chapter, and you find yourself wishing your life had more meaning. There may even be some of those sketchy villain characters that you don’t tolerate well.

Let me encourage you with this:

• God is not surprised.

• God is not panicking.

• God is not done.

Even when you can’t see the next chapter, He’s already written it. And it's good. Not just in the ending—but in every single scene.

You don’t have to force the plot. You don’t have to beg for the blessing. You just have to trust the Author and walk through each chapter with faithfulness and obedience.

Closing Encouragement: Let Go of the Pen

So today, whatever chapter you’re in—whether it’s sorrow, waiting, breakthrough, or rebuilding—I want you to picture this:

You, gently handing the pen to God.

Saying, “I trust You. Even when it’s hard. Even when I don’t like this part. Even when I don’t understand the direction. You write it, Lord.”

Because His pen never runs out of ink.

His plots are never lazy.

And His endings are always better than ours.

God: The Author Who Doesn’t Miss a Detail

Let’s end with this truth: God isn’t writing random chapters in your life. He’s not winging it. He’s not scrambling to rewrite the plot when things go wrong.

Let me leave you with this verse, written by the King who was once a boy serenading the sheep:

Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

In other words, "God, you have written my story before I was ever conceived. I can trust You to write it well."

That means He’s not just the Author—He’s the Editor, Publisher, and Perfect Finisher of your story. 

Now go enjoy your tea, your scones, and this moment of rest. You, sisters in Christ, are beloved daughters of the Author, and are part of a divine story in progress. And it’s going to be glorious.