Yesterday, I was reading One Thousand Gifts, and the author talked about a difficult event in her life that caused her to pause and wonder...in these tense situations, who shows in her? Does she become someone that she doesn't want to be...or does she step back and let Jesus shine through her? In that moment she recognized the hand of God in her life and the choice she had to make. She said it way better than I could:"You would be very ashamed if you knew what the experiences you call setbacks, upheavals, pointless disturbances, and tedious annoyances really are. You would realize that your complaints about them are nothing more nor less than blasphemies--though that never occurs to you. nothing happens to you except by the will of God, and yet [God's] beloved children curse it because they do not know it for what it is."
Nothing happens to you except by the will of God! Nothing happens to you except by the will of God! Nothing happens to you except by the will of God! [the 4 times isn't for your benefit, it is for mine.]
You see this week has been a time when I have questioned the setbacks and upheavals in our life. I saw an event that was to change our lives as emotionally challenging and I began to dwell in my self-pity and my woe is me attitude. When I read these words, it was as if Jesus jerked me to attention. He had questions for me:
Do I not know what is best for you?
Do you question my will?
Do you think this deviates from my plan for you?
Your plan is NOT my plan and it is my plan that you tell me you want?
Did you think this was a surprise to ME?
Do you trust me?
Draw close to me and I will whisper in your ear that it's okay. I will rock you on my lap and shush you as I would a child. I will calm your fears and dry your tears because I love you. Trust me to know what is best.
I do want what is best for me and I do want His will for my life. His plan is a plan to prosper me and not harm me. His plan includes those around me. He has plans for them. He loves them and knows them far more intimately than I do. But this week, I did need to climb upon His lap, allow Him to shush me and quiet my spirit, and most of all, I needed to realize that nothing He does is a surprise to HIM!
I have begun this year with the prayer to allow me to see Him...to see His hand in my life.... John Piper said, "If you want to be really alert to seeing Jesus' divine beauty, his glory...then make sure you tune your senses to see his grace." This week I needed to be reminded of His grace. He is patient with me and and I needed to tune my senses to be one with Him and experience His grace.
Our lives will be different. There is a finality to this event yet there is also great joy in knowing that His plan will continue. His will will be done. He has something else around the corner...and this corner...one would call it a blind corner...especially with finite eyes. That is why, I want to trust the one with infinite vision who sees around this corner and the next and the next and the next....praise His holy name.
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