Trusting the Divine Author When You Don't Like the Script

Picture this: You just received the only standing ovation of the night. The crowd loved your performance. You run offstage going for the high five. Then three words rewrite your entire future: "You're disqualified." In that moment, Hall of Fame speaker Jason Hewlett faced a choice every believer eventually confronts. Trust the Divine Author's script, or cling to the storyline you wrote for yourself.

Meet Jason Hewlett, Hall of Fame keynote speaker, entertainer, and author of "The Promise to the One," the number one spiritual self-help book on Amazon. In this episode of Why We Believe with host Nathan Gwilliam, Jason reveals how God rewrites our scripts in unexpected ways. A BYU talent show disqualification redirected his 25-year career, towards singing on Brazil Mission buses when the Spirit prompted courage, and a painful church camp controversy that taught empathy for Christ's suffering, his journey proves that trusting the Divine Author matters most when His script contradicts our preferences.

When God Edits Your Defense  

Growing up in the 1980s Park City, Utah meant living among friends of every faith. Wednesdays brought Catholic Mass with friends. Other days meant synagogue visits with Jewish classmates or Methodist services with neighbors. This multi-faith exposure became unexpectedly valuable when he moved to Sandy and enrolled in a liberal arts private school.

History class on one of his first days brought a shocking challenge. The teacher stood up and started berating the Book of Mormon's historical accuracy. At fifteen years old, Jason looked around the classroom. Nobody raised their hand. Nobody defended their faith. He confesses he hadn't read the entire book yet, but something inside said he had to speak.

He raised his hand and started questioning the teacher's claims. The adult tried making the teenager doubt his own faith. But Jason remembers testifying in class: "I don't know the exact history, but I do know it's true. I know the book has changed my life." The teacher kept insisting he was wrong, everything historically incorrect. Jason responded with humility: "I disagree, and I'm going to learn more so I can talk to you further."

That moment taught him something about the Divine Author's script. God doesn't always give us all the answers before asking us to defend the truth. Sometimes His script requires standing up before we fully understand, trusting that He'll provide knowledge we need as we move forward in faith. The Divine Author was writing courage into Jason's character long before the plot revealed why that courage mattered.

When the Spirit Writes Stage Directions  

Years later, standing on a rickety Brazil mission bus, struggling with Portuguese and companion issues, Jason was reading Alma's words about wanting to be like the voice of a lion. The bus careened down cobblestone roads. Something whispered clearly: You need to sing to these people. The prompting felt strange. He was only two weeks into his mission. But the Divine Author's stage direction was unmistakable: It's time to sing.

He announced in Portuguese to the entire bus: "I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a missionary of Jesus. I would like to sing for you, but I'm going to sing in English." Then he sang "How Great Thou Art" to strangers staring at this gigantic American. They applauded when he finished. He and his companion asked each person for teaching opportunities. Everyone said no.

Jason expected opened doors to teaching. That wasn't the Divine Author's script. What God was writing into this scene was courage. Opening his mouth boldly in public opened his willingness to share gospel truths anywhere, anytime, in any way. From that bus forward, he was never timid. He became the bus preacher, giving one-minute plan of salvation presentations, then going person to person asking for opportunities.

One young man named Andre said yes. Seventeen years old, full-time smoker, full-time drinker, school dropout with a girlfriend. As they taught the first vision, something completely changed. He committed immediately to never drink or smoke again. Over the following weeks he broke up with his girlfriend, lived the law of chastity, came to church. Watching Andre enter the baptism waters was unbelievable. Then his aunt joined. Then his sister. Then his mom. After Jason returned home, Andre's dad joined. The whole family.

The Divine Author wasn't writing a script about one bus sermon opening one door. He was writing a family's salvation story that required a missionary brave enough to sing when prompted, even when immediate results looked like failure.

When God Disqualifies Your Standing Ovation  

At BYU Young Ambassadors Camp, Jason performed his Michael Jackson impression. Moonwalk. Signature moves. Ripped shirt finale. The crowd gave him the only standing ovation that night. He ran offstage going for the high five. The camp director stood there, arms folded. "You're disqualified." Jason was shocked. The director's words cut through: "You know way better than that. You were raised better than that. That's inappropriate for this audience and for any stage. You need to pick a side."

Sitting alone in his Helaman Halls dorm wearing full Michael Jackson costume, anger burned. How could he not recognize that greatness? The crowd loved it. The applause proved his talent. Then the Spirit whispered: "He was right. Which side are you on?" In that moment, Jason understood something about the Divine Author's editing process. God sometimes takes away our standing ovations because He's writing a better story than crowd approval.

Jason made his choice right there. "I will never do that move again." Not because legalism demanded it. Because he chose to trust that the Divine Author's version of his career would exceed anything built on compromised standards. Years later when Las Vegas offered casino headlining opportunities with fame and fortune attached, the decision required zero wrestling. The choice was already made. The promise was already sealed.

That BYU disqualification became the plot twist that redirected everything. For 25 years now, Jason has maintained "Utah Ready Las Vegas Quality" entertainment blessing millions worldwide. The Divine Author wasn't punishing talent. He was protecting purpose. God was writing a career story where influence emerged from integrity rather than compromise, where impact came from covenant keeping rather than crowd pleasing.

When God Scripts Your Humiliation  

A couple of years ago, Jason tried teaching young men at church camp about inclusivity and loving everybody. His message about unity and kindness got perceived wrong. The camp ended early. What followed became one of his most painful experiences: punishment from his bishopric, going house to house apologizing to each boy's parents, feeling humiliated and misunderstood by the ward he'd belonged to for twenty years.

He thought he was sharing gospel truth about Jesus. It was misconstrued. Professional communicators don't usually fail this badly at delivering messages. This wasn't in his preferred script. But it was clearly in the Divine Author's manuscript. Going house to house, Jason didn't try fixing anything. He apologized and listened. He said he loved them and was sorry for how it came across. Still went every Sunday. Still attended every activity. Still fulfilled his calling.

That experience taught him about Christ in ways nothing else could. Jesus was misunderstood, tortured, and crucified. He could have defended Himself, called them idiots, and stood up for His righteousness. Instead, He took it like a man on a mission with passion. The Divine Author was teaching Jason empathy for Christ's suffering through his personal experience of being misunderstood by fellow believers.

Sometimes the Divine Author writes scenes where we apologize without defending ourselves. Where we bear crosses without explaining we're right. Where humiliation becomes the tool shaping Christlike character. The script feels wrong in the moment. Looking back, Jason sees how that painful chapter deepened his testimony requiring more faith to deny than embrace.

When Divine Direction Contradicts Your Career  

From age five, Jason's piano training and performance gifts pointed toward an entertainment career. By high school, he was joining bands around Nashville. Professional touring offers came. All arrows pointed toward commercial music fame. His engineering job was just the day job funding his real dream. Then his wife saw what he couldn't. All his creative arrows were pointing inward toward his ego rather than outward toward service.

She suggested using his gifts for sacred hymn arrangements instead. The choice became stark: pursue commercial success or maintain marriage and family priorities. Choosing his wife meant choosing the Divine Author's script over his preferred storyline. He's never regretted it once. Shifting toward sacred music transformed everything. Now, all creative energy flows outward, blessing others. His composition prayer always centers on bringing people closer to Christ.

In 2014, the US military called asking him to perform in Afghanistan during the war. Nearly a month donated. All the celebrities said no. So they called performers like Jason who understood service over recognition. Performing for troops keeping the ultimate promise, who sacrifice safety for freedom, became his greatest professional honor in 25 years. Not the corporate executives or famous athletes or political events before a quarter-million people. The soldiers far from home mattered most.

The Divine Author wasn't limiting Jason's career by redirecting it from Nashville fame. He was expanding it beyond anything commercial success could achieve. God was writing a story where influence came from integrity, where impact emerged from service, where greatest honors arrived through sacrifice rather than spotlight.

Trust the Author's Storyline  

Jason's journey proves that the Divine Author writes better stories than we could script for ourselves. That BYU disqualification that felt like failure redirected 25 years of covenant-keeping entertainment. That mission bus prompting that produced no immediate results built courage defining his entire ministry approach. That painful church camp controversy taught empathy for Christ impossible to learn any other way. That wife's redirection from Nashville fame created greater fulfillment than commercial success ever provides.

President Russell M. Nelson teaches about spiritual momentum. Each choice to trust God's script builds on the last, creating patterns carrying us through future trials. Each time we surrender our preferred storyline, we give the Divine Author permission to write better chapters than we imagined possible.

Consider the script you're resisting right now. The disqualification that makes no sense. The prompting that seems strange. The humiliation that feels undeserved. The redirection that contradicts your dreams. What if the Divine Author is writing something better than your preferred plot? What if He's editing your standing ovations because He's scripting eternal impact that requires different foundations?

Trusting the Divine Author doesn't mean understanding His plot twists. It means believing He writes better stories than we could author ourselves. It means surrendering our standing ovations when He says they're taking us wrong directions. It means singing on buses when prompted even when nobody responds immediately. It means apologizing house to house when misunderstood rather than defending ourselves. It means choosing sacred over commercial when His script contradicts our career dreams.

The beautiful truth Jason discovered: God's script always exceeds our preferences. His plot twists redirect toward purposes bigger than our ambitions. His editing removes what limits us even when it feels like success being stolen. His stage directions take us places our comfort zones would never explore. His storyline writes eternal impact we'd miss chasing temporary applause.

Ready to discover how trusting God's script transforms disappointment into divine purpose? Listen to Jason Hewlett's complete testimony and learn why surrendering your preferred storyline opens chapters you never imagined.

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: WhyWeBelieve.com | YouTube: @WhyWeBelieveShow | Instagram: @WhyWeBelievePodcast | LinkedIn: @Why-We-Believe-Show

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: @NathanGwilliam

Follow Jason Hewlett:

LinkedIn: @JasonHewlett | Website: JasonHewlett.com | Facebook: JasonHewlettEntertainer | Instagram: @JasonHewlett

#WhyWeBelieve #FaithDrivenCareer #BYU #MissionStories #ChristianEntertainer #KeepingPromises #BrazilMission #MilitaryService #StandingForTruth #CareerCrossroads #CovenantLiving #FaithAndWork #ChristianSpeaker #TestimonyBuilder #ChurchCampLessons

Thank you for reading this week's blog post inspired by the Why We Believe show. If you are interested in more stories like this, you can check out our other blog posts and episodes at WhyWeBelieve.com.

If you enjoyed this story, don’t forget to follow the podcast and share it with friends who’d love it too! A quick review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube — your support helps us reach more listeners and keep inspiring conversations coming your way.!