Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for the good of them who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Have you ever just took some time out to think about all of the things God blocked in your life? What about the stuff that He didn't block but allowed to happen?
When I recently took into consideration all of the things God stopped, redirected, and just plain ole told me, "No!" I rejoiced.
I'm truly grateful because I'm currently benefiting from God's timely assists.
Yet as I continued to thank God for shutting things down, pulling me out of situations, and keeping me from walking into others, I grew angry. I hurled up a grievance from the sole of my feet and I asked Him, "How come you blocked that, but you didn't block this? How come you stopped that from happening, but You didn't stop this from happening? How come You gave me the wisdom to maneuver out of one trap but didn't give me anything to keep me from walking into that other trap? What gives?"
God answered me placing a spotlight on some of the events recorded in His word.
If Moses had not been hidden in a basket by his mother when he was born, to escape death and found by Pharaoh's daughter, he would not have grown up to lead the children of Israel out of captivity.
If Paul had not been struck blind for three days he would have remained blinded by a murderous spirit aimed towards those who believed and would have never become an integral instrument for delivering the good news.
If Rahab hadn't encountered the spies who spared her and her family's life, she would have not married and given birth to Boaz the husband of Ruth who birthed Obed, the father of Jesse, who birthed David sparking the lineage that would ultimately lead to the birth of Jesus. Isn't that something?
It's some events that have transpired in my life of which I would prefer to have never happened. Yet every time I find myself wishing away these inglorious affairs, I think about how they catapulted me into some amazing groundbreaking personal exploits.
Listen to me, every episode of our lives will find its purpose. From the quiet mundane ones to the explosive dramatic ones, they all will serve an invaluable purpose like puzzle pieces.
We may not see the meaning now. Eventually we will.
I do know that most people who are called for a specific purpose such as breaking generational curses, destroying local cycles, being trailblazers, pioneers, or the first of something, will have frequent occurrences accompanied by a myriad of question marks. A lot of things we have and will experience will not make sense immediately.
Sacrificial lambs will catch the brunt of the journey so that those behind them won't have to.
Our darkest days will serve as the nucleus of our brightest days.
Here's the challenge, it's time for us to release the burden that comes with wishing certain things didn't happen. It's draining our focus and taking away from all of the other beautiful things that have occurred since those unfavorable moments.
Moreover, God is very good at directing and orchestrating situations around a series of unfortunate events and making them into beautiful masterpieces. That thing which you believe comes with the most embarrassment and shame, is the very thing God will use, (if you allow Him to), to connect to something else, that will connect to something else to make it good. That thing which you believe caused so much pain and trauma, God will use, (if you allow Him to) to connect to something else, that will connect to something else to make it good.
Does that make any sense?
In 2008, my shattered heart, my hopelessness, and my defeat, encouraged me to renounce atheism, to surrender to Christ, and to cultivate a love for His people. My mental meltdown that forced me to go on medical leave from work in 2014 prompted a desperate seek for God and a desire to see His people be free. My accident just a while later, where I was T-boned by a car while riding my bike leaving me physically immobile for some time, erupted a ferocious hunger and thirst for God's word which has transcended my limitations, epitomizing my witness and walk today.
My life right now is a combination of the good and the bad and everything God used and is using to make them work together. There are parts of God I would have never seen or have ever come to know if I'd succeeded in keeping my eyes from seeing past the shrapnel and debris left behind from an explosive season.
Some of the most monumental and triumphant moments in our lives will originate from the darkest even the most tragic moments in our lives.
It is an amazing phenomenon that's beyond human expression.
I'm not going to lie to you though, I myself have a few puzzle pieces in my hands right now that I've tried so hard to make sense of. It seems like I can make sense of the most complicated things but this here, I just don't understand. They remind me of the end pieces of a puzzle where most parts of them seem final.
Nevertheless, if any sadness tries to creep up within me, it is overridden by this revelation; As many powerful purposes that I've recognized overtime behind God blocking some things in my life, there are some even grander purposes as to why He's allowed others. And just like those end pieces to a puzzle still have other pieces that they must connect to, to make the entire picture whole, God will take what's in my hands and connect them to something else to make it all good.
Romans 8:28 was never meant to whitewash our sufferings or disregard them. But a reminder that even in the midst of losing a loved one, receiving an unsettling diagnosis, getting a divorce, filing bankruptcy or what have you, there is still an intimate space reserved for God to express His goodness in it all and make it work in our favor.
If you're reading this, I want you to know that my pain is not your pain and your pain is not my pain. But your pain and my pain is God's pain.
He knows our pain and can show us some purpose behind them.
Let us make a personal choice today, to posture ourselves to recognize the purpose, the WHAT. Instead of dwelling on the WHY.
Read this previous post of mine if you have not
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Yes and amen
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