I must confess that this hasn’t been the easiest month.
The life goals I set for myself were pushed back, I suffered a bit of a financial loss, and while trying to do something ‘the right way’, my laptop crashed and I lost months of hard work worth of data.
In the midst of my losses, I reached out to my girlfriend, and told her all about it. And her response to all that I said astounded me.
“Wow”, she said, “what an opportunity to praise God. There’s an Awe & Wonder post in there for sure.”
I guess she was right, because here I am, writing this.
But that was quite a response for anyone to have.
Because where I saw loss, she saw an opportunity to glorify God.
Where I saw inconvenience, she saw that God was at work – doing something, even when neither of us could see what it was.
It reminded me of Corrie Ten Boom’s story while she was held at a concentration camp with her sister Betsie. Corrie and her sister, along with many other women prisoners, were assigned to sleep in a dirty dormitory crawling with lice and fleas.
But even in that disgusting room, Betsie was determined to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Betsie thanked God for their situation, and even for the bugs. Corrie, on the other hand, did not understand her sister at all. Give thanks to the very thing that made them lay wide awake all night and feel exhausted? How?
Nevertheless, they both remained faithful to God, and faithfully read their Bible aloud everyday, preaching to the women. Slowly, all the women began to listen to them, and their prayer group grew.
Initially they tried to be secretive, for fear of the guards, but eventually, they stopped being afraid, because they noticed the guards would never enter their dorms.
It was only later that they learnt that the guards refused to enter that little Bible-reading room because of the lice and the fleas.
I don’t know what you are going through today, and I don’t know the losses you’ve suffered. But imagine what it would look like if we thanked God, even for the situation we are in right now?
Imagine if we could see an opportunity to praise God, wheter others saw a loss?
Imagine if we truly believed that He is not only working through the mess, but that He is also using the mess, to shape us, mould us, and to bring us into the fullness of joy?
God has always been in the habit of bringing out miracles out of the worst circumstances. He hasn’t stopped. He is still at work. Even when you and I can’t see it. Even though we may not understand what good can come out of it.
He is still at work.
He used a bloody cross to save the world, and we thank God for it today.
He can use your mess too.
So go ahead, thank God for whatever He is going to do with it. And then wait for Him. Because He will meet you there, and you will see that He always has better in store.
He is still at work.
