Yesterday a couple of things happened which made me think of this verse. The first was that a friend got a job. Which was great for him and not, in itself, terribly remarkable. Except for the fact that the circumstances in which the job came about were..... well... let me tell you a story
There were two jobs advertised. One very near his home and church with seemingly the perfect set up and for which he was exactly qualified. The other a bit further away, slightly less appealing and possibly more challenging. So, as they were both being interviewed at the same time he applied for the first one. Got an interview. Felt he had done really well at interview. Didnt get the job - and was seriously disappointed.
Then he discovered that the OTHER job which had interviewed on the same day had not made an appointment and was now readvertising. So he applied for it. And got it. Yesterday. Hooray!!
My friend had looked at the circumstances and evaluated the possibilities and decided that job A was a dead cert. God, however, had other plans :-)
Then last night I was out for coffee with Karen. And amongst other things we started to discuss heaven and hell ( as you do!) and how hard it is to understand why God allows suffering and how a good and loving God who does not want any to perish can condemn people to hell. You will not be surprised to know that we didnt manage to reach any earth shattering and definitive conclusions in the hour or so we were chatting. But I did come away from the conversation once again aware that God does not think as we think. He does not have the same priorities as we do. Because He is eternal, He does not view our lifespans in the same way that we do. He sees the whole picture - we only see a miniscule fraction and even then we see it ' through a glass darkly'.
God reminded me of something else this week. He is in the business of tying up loose ends.
I have often used the analogy of God being a weaver, weaving the different threads of people and circumstances across our lives . We only see the back of the tapestry - a mass of threads which often seem to make no sense at all. Its only when the thing is turned over that we see the full picture and can understand what each thread was for and where it fit into the completed scheme. From the very start of our lives God knows what He is weaving and what our finished picture is going to look like. He does not leave any loose ends. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it !! Even though we might not understand how He does it or agree with His methods. Even if it all looks a bit of a shambles and we cant make any sense of what is happening. The Bible, the Gospels, church history, the testimony of so many people we know and our own history with God show us again and again that there IS a plan and that God is working it out.
So take heart if you cant see the way forward. Or if your current circumstances dont seem to make much sense or be taking you in the right direction. If you are submitted to Jesus then He is at work ordering your steps.
Lord I thank you that Your plan is perfect and Your ways are true. Thank you that You dont think like I do. Help me to trust You when I just dont understand. (Which is most of the time!) Mould my thinking to be more like yours - with an eye on eternity and an understanding of the bigger picture. Help me to cooperate with the weaving process so that together we produce a part of the divine tapestry which is uniquely and wonderfully the real me. Amen
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