Trust Him with the Pieces
...by Susan (with a lot of help from Selah)
I had listened to this song a dozen times before the words hit me today. Funny how you can tune your ears to hear things in the valley of suffering that would go right over your head most any other time.
Believing that God is working everything together for good is an easy thing to believe and to proclaim when the road is smooth and there are no obstacles in sight. But when God allows the circumstances in our lives to heat up and boil over, it can suddenly become very difficult to accept that he knows exactly what he's doing and has it all under control. These words of Life, favourite scriptures of my Mom's too, once again brought comfort through some huge challenges this week:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)
It does not matter what circumstances we go through in this life, what we have done, what we have not done, what has been done to us, by us, for us, or against us. If we lay the shattered pieces of our lives at his feet, there is not a single thing which will go unredeemed. Just like this song (by Selah) says. I pray it ministers to your heart and strengthens your faith like it has mine that putting God in control of the circumstances of our lives is the only sane thing to do. He's good all the time! There's not a single thing, not a circumstance, a disappointment, an injustice, a wrong attitude, a lack of judgment, etc, etc, etc, which cannot be redeemed by a Saviour so great as ours if we will only trust him with the outcome and let go of trying to control it ourselves... Over to you, Lord...
I had listened to this song a dozen times before the words hit me today. Funny how you can tune your ears to hear things in the valley of suffering that would go right over your head most any other time.
Believing that God is working everything together for good is an easy thing to believe and to proclaim when the road is smooth and there are no obstacles in sight. But when God allows the circumstances in our lives to heat up and boil over, it can suddenly become very difficult to accept that he knows exactly what he's doing and has it all under control. These words of Life, favourite scriptures of my Mom's too, once again brought comfort through some huge challenges this week:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)
It does not matter what circumstances we go through in this life, what we have done, what we have not done, what has been done to us, by us, for us, or against us. If we lay the shattered pieces of our lives at his feet, there is not a single thing which will go unredeemed. Just like this song (by Selah) says. I pray it ministers to your heart and strengthens your faith like it has mine that putting God in control of the circumstances of our lives is the only sane thing to do. He's good all the time! There's not a single thing, not a circumstance, a disappointment, an injustice, a wrong attitude, a lack of judgment, etc, etc, etc, which cannot be redeemed by a Saviour so great as ours if we will only trust him with the outcome and let go of trying to control it ourselves... Over to you, Lord...
Comments
The message is so true; God uses everything redemptively in our lives when they are offered up to him.
"When anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord... it will not be unredeemed" -- there's a real challenge here. We need to bring it to Him. That means acknowledging it, not burying or trying to live with it.
I've just finished reading Beth Moore's So Long Insecurity and one of the big things I took from it was the reminder that we don't need to fear anything that may happen because whatever it is, God can and will redeem it. As long as we trust Him and let Him!
There's so much darkness, we so need to hear these messages of light. To me, that's the heart of the gospel.
You've blessed my heart today with your words and the song.
Thank you, too, B'a!