WHAT if being overlooked for recognition yet again is so that I recognize who the Lord overlooking all truly is?
What if that painful acne is so that I fall from the mirror to my knees in pain over vanity?
What if that brain fog that overwhelms when I can’t do it is so that I may learn the determination that can?
What if the death of that one person is so that eternal life will become more precious to me?
What if that bread I can’t have is so that I know that God is the Bread of Life?
What if that betrayal is so that I may find Him faithful?
What if that terrible day is so that I might find Christ waiting at the end?
What if that burning, unforgettable mistake is so that I might comprehend Christ’s unmistakeable perfection?
What if that pervasive stubborn streak is so that I might never back down in stubbornness for Christ?
What if that inopportune accident is so I could have the opportunity to encourage the heart of a hurting girl?
What if that aching tooth is so that I could share the Gospel with an aching soul in the waiting room?
What if the loneliness that swathes my heart is so that I might grasp that I am never alone?
What if that tempting thought that worms into my brain is so that I can cry out to God with every breath in my being?
What if those cutting words that stabbed my heart are so that I can someday comfort another whose heart has been stabbed?
What if the fears that paralyze my soul are so that I may realize that they are a symptom of the love that does not dwell in my heart?
What if everything in my life is directed by a sovereign God so that everything I am may glorify Him?
It is.
Photo Credit: sleepfordays
Thank you Lauren! This is perfect for what I am going through right now.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Aimee
That was beautiful Lauren. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAimee--I'm praying for you! It's so comforting knowing that no matter what the situation, God is still sovereign!
ReplyDeleteKaytra--You're such a sweetheart! I was brutally honest, and if God can make beauty out of that, then that is definitely all Him!
nice post ..
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This reminds me of that song "Blessings". :) How good dear Jesus is to give us hope by turning everything around to be used for good! Love this post, Lo...
ReplyDeleteWe are on a similar thought-pattern. Sunday was a very difficult day, I woke Monday thanking God for yesterday so I could whole-heartedly appreciate today. How blessed I am that the holy spirit gives me discernment that leads to gratitude and joy. XO, Aunt Hiedie
ReplyDeleteThank you Lauren!! Yes I agree with Sarah it reminds me so much of Laura's song. What a piece of humble pie that poem is. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWow, this fits so, so well with what God has been teaching me and what I have been sharing with others. Yesterday in a women's seminar I taught on forgiveness and re-told the story of Joseph and the forgiveness he showed his brothers. Forgiveness includes trusting God that even when I have been hurt, He knows me and He knows how to work all in my life for my best. I love when Joseph told his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good." Thank you for this beautiful post, Lauren!
ReplyDeleteI stopped believing in God the day me and my friends decided to swim across the river to cool down, and one of my friends (our Pastor's only child, no less) was dragged under by the current. I stood there with the others and watched him drown, trying without success to get him to grab branches so we could pull him out. We were standing right next to the lifebelt holder as well, but there was nothing in there. If there had been, he would not have died. I see no reason why a loving God would have allowed such an event to occur (particularly the lack of a lifebelt) when it brought nothing but misery to a huge number of people. Nature is red in tooth and claw.
ReplyDeleteKaryn
Karyn,
ReplyDeleteI can't say any trite words that will take away the pain of your loss or the pain of having to watch that tragedy unfold with no ability to stop it. I understand in a small part because of what I have been through in my life, but I know I cannot understand your pain fully.
The tragedy that your pastor's only child and your friend died cannot be spoken away by me. Yet consider this: that God willingly gave His only Son to die a horrible, gruesome death, because He loved you and me and your Pastor's son, and all the world so much.
So God understands, Karyn. He weeps with you. And the question of why He didn't prevent that accident from occuring is backwards when you look at it from God's perspective: Why didn't He keep His Son in Heaven and let us all die eternal, miserable deaths? is more the question that awes me every day.
You are in my prayers.