Finding God in Your Story
Speakers: CJ Cody and Carey Tanzola
Carey Tanzola
Read: Psalm 139:1-18; Hosea 1:1-2, 2:14-15
Carey’s story reflected on her growing up in a small town with hard working people and many, including her family, who coped with life through alcohol and addiction. Surrounded by this lifestyle and despite a godly grandmother, she said she walked away from church and began sleep walking through life. Later, even after receiving Christ, her story involved the memories of the things she had done to drown out the pain of feeling like a little girl who could never be good enough and feeling unloved. Yet, despite some of her choices, God demonstrated to her the kind of love He extended to Gomer in the Book of Hosea. At times, He had painfully blocked her way with thorns, but in looking back she now sees this as His protection. She understands that God did not place her where she was by accident, and that He was devoted to her even when she was not devoted to Him. She has chosen to believe and align herself with His story about her as described in Psalm 139, and not her own.
CJ Cody
Read: Exodus 3:10-14
CJ shared a time in his life when the negative words spoken over him became a part of his story and lived in the back of his mind, often causing him to feel he was not good enough. He noted that it is sometimes hard to believe God’s story because it does not match up with the ones we have heard, and that God’s story will sometimes call us outside of our comfort zone and place us in positions we never expected. Using Moses as an example, he shared the excuses Moses used to argue that he was not the one to be sent to deliver Israel from Pharoah’s bondage. But God assured Moses that He would be with him, that he already had all he needed in his hand, and that He had made no mistake in choosing him for the task. God knows us all well and gives us these same assurances. All we need to do is to believe His story and then put our faith into action.
Discussion Questions
1. What resonated with you as listened to this sermon and reviewed?
2. What are some thorns in your life that you now can look back and see them as protection?
3. CJ said that often we feel weak, but that weakness is an opportunity. What does this mean to you?
4. What are some negative words that have been spoken over you that have lived in the back of your mind and have become a part of your story?
5. Both Carey and CJ alluded to ‘not feeling like they were enough.’ How do you relate to this?
6. How have your childhood surroundings impacted your story?
7. What do we need to do to understand God’s story and to replace our stories with His?
