“God Wastes Nothing!”
Quote: “Everything in your past is preparation for something in your future. God wastes nothing.” – Mark Batterson “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”
Romans 5:17 “…how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Reflection:
I had a new friend come over to this week and he mentioned how God had used a transitional job he didn’t want nor like to teach him managerial skills that he is using today. He said that he would not have learned these skills any other way but in the context of this undesirable job. Does God do this to his children? Does God allow us to go though some kind of difficultly today to prepare us for something special tomorrow?
I think that most of us would, of course say “yes…absolutely.” God is our great redeemer and he uses all things, both good and bad to refine and prepare us for our future in Him. God takes all of our life experiences, whether positive or painful, intentional or accidental, caused by one’s self or by someone else, to shape us for His unique calling and purpose. Romans 8:28 may be one of the most quoted verses in the Bible: “We know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Rick Warren puts it this way: “God can take the mess in your life and bring a message out of it. He can take the test in your life and create a testimony out of it. He can take a crisis and show Christ through it.” God does not want to waste any event or experience you have to reveal His glory in and through you.
Orthodox Christian theology teaches us that God is working in every experience you have. Your stupid mistakes, dumb decisions, successes and failures, your education, different jobs, relationships, unemployment, divorce, cancer or bankruptcy…you name it! God is working in everything in your life, even your failures, to accomplish His purpose for you.
We see this in the lives of Joseph, Moses and Daniel in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we see it in a run away servant like Onesimus found in the small book of Philemon where Paul says in verse 11, “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you”. This reminds us that even foolish actions can be used by the Lord to establish his purpose in our lives.
The real question I have for us today is this; “Do we recall these past events in our lives to remind us, and others, of God’s amazing orchestration and redemption of our past? Do we pause, reflect and even search out the “whys” of these events? Do we value them as “gems of his grace”…or are we allowing them to be covered by the dust of time? If God works all things for the good of those who love him, are we active or passive in this process?
Proverbs 25:2 says “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” Maybe we need to put on our kingly robes and begin searching out those hidden gems of His grace found in the dark and difficult days of our past!
I’ll leave you with one verse for you to ponder… “how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Romans 5:17. Maybe reigning in life through this abundant provision of grace is discovering once again the daily grace and mercies of God found in our past, so that we can reflect His glory in our present day.
Prayer: Lord, help me recall and recount your blessings through the journey of my life, both for my encouragement and for that of the generations to come!
Recent Comments