Truth: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28,
NIV).
Friend to Friend
A father was trying to take his Sunday
afternoon nap but having little success because his young son kept waking him up
with the complaint, “Daddy, I’m bored.” The father knew he needed to come up
with some kind of plan to keep the little boy occupied, or there would be no
nap. He glanced at the newspaper lying on the coffee table and had what he
thought was a brilliant plan to keep his son busy and give him more time to
sleep.
The father picked up the paper and pointed to a picture of the
world on the front page.
explained. He then ripped the picture into about fifty pieces, handed them to
his young son and said, “I want you to put it all back together.” He lay down to
finish his nap, thinking he would get at least another hour of sleep.
In
about fifteen minutes, the little boy woke him up saying, “Daddy, I’ve got it
finished. It’s all put together.” The father could not believe it. His son was
too young to know much about geography. “How did you do that?” he asked in
amazement. “Dad, there was a picture of a person on the back page of that
newspaper, and when I got my person put together, the world looked fine.”
Pain can rip our lives apart. We frantically try to find some way to put
it all back together, but the broken pieces don’t seem to fit anymore. What
then?
Trust God. Like the children of Israel, just stick your toes in
the water, and watch God part the raging sea before you.
You may be
desperately clinging to the broken and mismatched remnants of your life,
wondering how you can go on. Whispers of the enemy creep into your heart, soul,
and mind, taunting you with the lie that you are just too dirty and too broken
for God to love or use. You might as well give up.
No! That is a lie from
the pit and smells like smoke!
God is drawn to broken people, choosing
the most broken to do His highest work. His light shines best through broken
people.
There are no accidents with God, nor is He surprised by anything
or anyone in the life of His child. God uses even the most horrendous
circumstances for our good. Every circumstance comes to us for a purpose, bound
by God’s love and plan, and faithfully delivered with His
permission.
Only God can take the broken pieces of your life and make
something beautiful out of each one. He is waiting for you to let go … and trust
Him. And you really can trust God.
No one loves you like He
does.
You may not always understand or even like His process, but you can
always trust His heart of love for you.
Let’s Pray
Father, I choose to believe You are faithful and will do
what You promise to do in Your Word. I believe that when I lay my pain and hurt
at Your feet, You can and will transform it all into something beautiful. I
choose to believe You will turn the broken places of my life into living
illustrations of Your sufficiency and healing power.
In Jesus’
Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Read the following verse about
the good that God can bring out of the difficult times in life. Record the verse
in the journal. Then write it in your own words as it applies to your life.
Isaiah 45:3 (NLT) “And I will give you treasures
hidden in the darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am
the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by
name.”
[written by Mary Southerland, of Girlfriends in
God]
