Within the Design 

Within the Design
What if the life you’re trying to create is too small of a story? 

I still love a good movie.  

And not just the streaming kind. You know, a proper film…in a theater where they’re supposed to be watched. Escaping the hot summer temps and settling into a comfy recliner seat with a big bucket of popcorn is still a high-quality way to spend an evening. 

The bigger truth is that I just love good stories. Storytelling is woven into how God created us. Scientists say we’re 22 times more likely to remember a story than a fact. Jesus Himself taught in parables. Stories are “sticky,” and they help us make sense of the world. 

A Story About Stories 

That’s one of the reasons this interview with actor Matt Damon caught my attention. He was talking about the first time he worked with the famed director Steven Spielberg, and something he said absolutely stopped me in my tracks. 

He was recalling the way Spielberg refused to surrender the process to the actors and their egos. He was the director. There was a story he was telling. And while he had chosen to partner with Damon and the other actors as his agents for creating it, Spielberg was the ultimate storyteller. 

Damon said it kind of offended him at first. But ultimately, Spielberg’s approach forced him to zoom out and look at the bigger narrative. There were literally hundreds of people on that movie set, each bringing their unique skills together for what he called the “magic” of making a story come to life. 

It wasn’t just about him.  

And then he said this… 

“I think the great challenge—and the fun for me—is to try to look at the design of the movie and try to make the performance work within the design, rather than try to make the whole thing come to me.” 

The Greater Story 

I love it when people swerve into an eternal truth without even realizing it. Here’s the key phrase that jumped out at me:  

Within the design. 

We were designed to live within an epic story written and directed by the Creator of the universe. But Genesis 3 flipped our perspectives, turning us inward, convincing us we were the central character in a story of our own making. 

I think this one of the primary reasons so many of us live frustrated and restless. Even as Christians, we can fall victim to seeing God—not as the author—but as the supernatural friend that helps us achieve the dreams and visions we have for our life. 

As Matt Damon said, we’re trying to make the story come to us. 

But there is a much greater Story being written. We just have to flip the script and reimagine our role. You see, we are not main characters in a story we are writing about ourselves. We are beloved members of the supporting cast in a cosmic redemption narrative God has been writing since the beginning of time! 

“…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” 
—John 12:24 

Your story and my story find their ultimate meaning within the Great Story of God. We’re afraid we will lose ourselves if we let go of the storyteller role, but it’s actually where we find ourselves. Where we find peace. Where we find purpose. Where we discover hope. Where we bear much fruit. 

The greatest story you can live won’t be the one you write for yourself. It’s the one you surrender to. You will find it within the design.