My girlfriend sent me pictures of her brand new condo. One of the main walls was being completely broken down to make way for a balcony. Her condo is a new construction, but with the timing of everything, had they been able to build the balcony before she moved in, it would have been delayed by easily 6 months. She had already been on a tight time constraint, and God had stepped in, just in the nick of time, to get her moved in. The condition was that they would come back, tear down this wall, and build this last remaining part. That’s a tall order and a big inconvenience – but do what you must.
I think of my life in those terms as well when I look back over the last few years. While I had been ‘fine’ as I was, it was not what God had intended for me. He had intended for me to be an extension of Himself, and then, I was just operating on a functional basis. After I had cried out to God for help, I realized that the only way He was going to make me what He wanted me to be, was by coming in and doing some major construction. Did it hurt to have some of the things that I thought were foundational strip away from me? You bet it did. While I was going through it, I couldn’t see that it was God working things out for my good. All I could see and think was that things were falling apart. Now I look back and I’m amazed. Were things falling apart or really just falling into the places that God needed them to be, so that He could use me the way He saw fit?
Romans 8:28 tells us ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ I know this is easier said than done, but the next time you think that your life is falling apart, try thinking in terms of how God is using those experiences to mold you and to strengthen your faith and trust in Him. He is using those experiences to draw you closer to himself.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for our life experiences. While some of them might have been difficult and we’ve thought they were going to break us, when we look back, we can see that it was your way of reconstructing what you want for us and to get us to where you need us to be. Help us not to become bitter by our experiences, but to draw closer to you and to continue to trust your unfailing love.