Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
(Ephesians 1:11 NLT)
I read this verse today & it hit me – like a dart hitting a bull’s eye – – – – –
Nothing, NOTHING can happen in my life that He cannot work out according to HIS plan.
Read that again & let it sink in.
We all have things occur in our lives which, quite frankly, we would have liked to have avoided. Or not have experienced at all. And for whatever reason that it was permitted into our lives, He somehow takes the circumstance & works it out according to His plan for our lives. In the midst of pain and tragedy, He is still at work. He gives the energy, the power, enabling us to get through, to stand in spite of it all. Because of His sovereignty, He makes it all work out.
I won’t pretend to understand it, because I truly do not, but everything, ALL OF IT, somehow works out to bring Him the glory & praise He deserves. Each day that we endure in the middle of our deep pain & hurt is a testimony to the enabling of the One who causes us to survive. Each day makes the statement that we can & do & will overcome because of the shed blood of the One Who has been victorious & gives us the victory.
As I saw this verse with eyes wide opened, I remembered this poem I heard Chuck Swindoll once share:
When God Wants To Drill A Man
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts himInto trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And which every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about.– Anonymous
Yes, God knows what He’s about. And it all works out according to His plan & purposes…. the struggles, the doubts, the insecurities, the rejections, the betrayals, the loneliness, the deaths, the changes, the brokenness and disappointments.
May we hold onto Him & trust His ways.
Today I linked with these lovely blogs…. Hear It, Use It and Making Your Home Sing and Gracelaced Mondays and Inspire Me Mondays and The Better Mom and The Modest Mom and The Alabaster Jar and Motivation Monday and Monday’s Musings and Playdates With God and Soli Deo Gloria and Out of the Blue .
Love it. Thanks for sharing.
Amen! (I see we were thinking along the same lines this weekend.)
This verse was especially relevant to me today, as we are making final preparations for a 1,000 move that actually begins next Tuesday. The difficulties in finding an apartment that meets our budget and other criteria, getting our lives packed and into the moving van, and all the details to handle in the in-between: these have all tested my patience and reminded me I have to let go and let God. Thanks for that verse!
May your move go smoothly. I am so glad that the verse spoke to you. May God supply you the patience needed to accept what is & let go of what is yet unknown.
Blessings!
Joanne