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“When you have a few pieces but no big picture, it’s easy to give up.”


A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 24). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Have you ever tried to put together a jigsaw puzzle without the big picture on the box?  It is almost impossible, isn’t it?

Kyle says, “The big picture is your guide for the whole process. It shows you where you’re going. It assures you that everything interlocks in a way that makes sense.”

He goes on, “The writer of Hebrews 11 defines the big picture of the cloud of witnesses as faith. Faith is the principle that joins all these various lives. Here’s how the writer puts it: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.’ (Heb. 11:1–2)”

Kyle then says, “Faith is a confidence that keeps believing all the pieces are going to somehow fit together, even when you don’t have the big picture to work from. It’s believing that God has a purpose, even when there seems to be no reason.”

Later he says, “We don’t like uncertainty; we’re taught that it’s foolish to walk into the unknown. Therefore, we have a tendency to give up if there’s no clear map or GPS. But faith that endures has confidence that even when we don’t know where we’re going, God does.

“We do our traveling while trusting in a satellite in the sky that speaks to a computer in our cars. The directions come step by step, turn by turn, with plenty of advance notice. No thinking is required, really. The pleasant voice says, ‘Turn right here.’ And that’s just the way we like it. Think about times in your own life when you wanted more details—stress-free movement. Life never works that way, for anyone.

“Not during the monthly heartbreaking event for the couple who only ever see the negative symbol at the end of their pregnancy test. Not for the fully invested employee, working hard for that first big break—only to keep getting pats on the back rather than the promotion she deserves. Not for those in their late thirties, still waiting to find that special someone who never arrives. No satellite relays our next turn in the things that matter most.

“Life’s detours are undeniably bumpy, confusing, and longer than we anticipate. However, just like actual detours on the road, once we’ve arrived at our destination, those detours can start to make sense. Or sometimes they don’t, but we decide that’s all right. Because the joy of finally arriving where we’ve yearned to be has put the detours in perspective, even if we don’t understand them.”

That is what faith is.  Would you put your faith in the one who sees the big picture?  Would you put your faith in God?  Would you?

Yes, yes!

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