Skip to main content

“Certainly God uses everything in our lives; nothing is wasted.”

A thought by Maria Goff (2017-03-07) from her book, Love Lives Here: Finding  What You Need in a World Telling You What You Want (Kindle Location 331). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I am so glad that is true, aren’t you?

Maria says, “We’ve changed a lot since the night the Lodge burned down. It’s odd how much I still remember about that night. It makes me wonder if God spends much time thinking about who we were and all of the details surrounding the difficulties we’ve experienced in our lives. I know He could remember everything if He wanted to, but I can’t help but wonder if He thinks that the fires we’ve endured don’t matter as much as the future He’s promised us. Certainly, God uses everything in our lives; nothing is wasted. But among His favorite questions for us isn’t where we’ve been and what we’ve been through, but ‘Where do we go from here?’ Like the disappointments we’ve all experienced, what stands out in my memory of the fire are just a few snapshots. The phone call, the family gathered close, standing next to the charred foundations, and the smell of smoke. I think God wired a lot of us to remember just a few parts of our pain, because He knows we don’t need all of the details to remember the lessons we’ve learned.”

Is that true of you and the difficulties that you have gone through or are going through?

She goes on, “Nothing remains of the Lodge. The intensity of the fire even destroyed the foundations. That takes a lot of heat. But you know what? I’m kind of glad it did. If there were even one old charred beam still standing after the fire, I’d be tempted to use it to rebuild.

“We do this all the time in our personal lives, too. We keep scorched pieces from our biggest failures and incorporate them into our lives as we rebuild ourselves. It’s not a good construction practice with wood, and it doesn’t make for a good future when we do it with our lives, because it only reminds us of our past. Sometimes we’re best served to start all over.”

She then says, “When we’ve suffered loss, starting again always feels like a gamble. Will we risk it all, knowing it might all just burn down again? Each of us has to decide if we’ll ante up and play another hand, or push away from the table and call it a day. I don’t think God gambles. He doesn’t need to. He sees the future and because He does, He already sees the beauty we’ve yet to find in the rebuilding. He doesn’t just make beauty from the ashes; He makes something far better. He shapes us into who we’re becoming.”

Maybe this is where you are in your life today.  Just remember, God is there with you and he sees the beauty that is ahead.  As Maria said, “He doesn’t just make beauty from the ashes; He makes something far better. He shapes us into who we’re becoming.”

So, are letting Him do that in your situation? 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...
Post a Comment
Read more