For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. [Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)]
Our old friend Joe recently visited. Along with our friend Ric, he and my husband were partners in a manufacturing business in another state many years ago. Once a year, the three men would meet away from the business (with its phone calls and constant interruptions) to discuss their short-term and long-term business goals. While Ric and my husband were the legal, financial, and sales parts of the business, as a processing engineer, Joe oversaw manufacturing.
Although Joe is a genius when it comes to engineering, electronics, production, and machinery, the innovative thinker had difficulty verbalizing his long-range manufacturing plans to his technology and machinery-challenged partners. Often unable to visualize what Joe had in mind, they sometimes had difficulty understanding his reasoning behind wanting to alter existing equipment, create new machinery, remove or install racks, re-arrange the factory, revise old procedures, or inaugurate new ones. Joe, however, knew exactly what he was doing. Inevitably, a new system would be in place that always resulted in faster and more efficient production, a better-quality product, and a safer work place for their employees. Although my husband and Ric didn’t fully comprehend Joe’s proposals, they knew there always was a method to what sometimes appeared to be madness. Having faith in Joe’s expertise and knowing his concern was for the welfare of their business and employees, they simply had to trust Joe to do his job in the factory while they did theirs in the office!
Just as my husband and Ric rarely understood Joe’s visions, we often have difficulty understanding what God is doing in our lives. We tend to be creatures of habit and prefer doing things the old familiar way rather than learning a new and better way. God, however, is never satisfied with our just being OK; He has great plans for us—to give us “a future and a hope.”
The words of Isaiah 55:8-9 remind us that we must put our complete trust in God; His ways always are better than our own. Because He loves us, we can know that everything in His plans is for our greater good. It’s rarely easy to understand why things (both pleasant and unpleasant) happen the way they do. Nevertheless, it all is part of God’s plan—a plan we cannot fully comprehend. It is only in hindsight that we finally understand why our lives took the twists and turns they did.
Looking back, I see how various difficulties and challenges caused me to mature in my faith, develop character and strength, and become more patient, peaceful, and thankful. Those changes and the circumstances that caused them (most of which I didn’t appreciate at the time) enabled me to withstand the challenges of today. Moreover, the troubles of today will empower me to better withstand the challenges that are sure to arrive tomorrow or the day after. Just as Joe transformed the factory and its manufacturing processes, God wants to transform and perfect us. Let us trust Him even more than Ric and my husband trusted Joe!
Father, thank you for transforming our lives so that we can grow more like Christ. Forgive us when we rebel and question your plan. Remind us to look back and reflect on the many blessings we’ve received that originally came packaged as trouble, sorrow, and difficulty. Thank you for never giving up on us.
Faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God has never failed her. … Therefore faith…can say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!” [Charles Spurgeon]
A certain amount of discontent seems to be built into us, which isn’t all bad since discontent can be the incentive to make improvements. Dissatisfaction with the harpsichord’s inability to vary the intensity of its sound led Bartolomeo Cristofori to invent the piano around 1708. Benjamin Franklin’s annoyance at having to switch between two pairs of glasses led to his invention of bifocals and it probably was his discontent with a cold house that led to his invention of the metal-lined Franklin stove. The invention of the “ballbarrow,” with its rust-proof plastic bin and ball-shaped wheel that won’t sink into soft soil, is the result of James Dyson’s discontent with the traditional wheelbarrow. As Thomas Edison said, “Discontent is the first necessity of progress.”
“And be sure of this,” He promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:20 (NLT)]
God took Heaven’s best—the Lord Jesus Christ—to redeem earth’s worst! [Billy Graham]
In Psalm 23, the King James version translates the original Hebrew “gay tsalmaveth” as “valley of the shadow of death.” A more accurate translation, however, would be a dark valley or a valley of death-like darkness. While people often associate this psalm with death, it uses the metaphor of sheep and their shepherd and sheep have no concept of death. But, because of their near-sightedness and poor depth perception, they are reluctant to move into dark places. Nevertheless, whether referring to the unknown, danger, or even death, David’s words are ones of comfort and hope to all who read them—we are not alone as we travel through the dark valleys of life.
Just finishing its 5th season, the Food Network’s “Outrageous Pumpkins” features remarkable pumpkin artistry. This year’s competition matched up 14 of the nation’s best carvers into teams and challenged them to create over-the-top pumpkin creations. The pumpkin artists created horrific nightmares, constructed grisly crime scenes, and fashioned monstrous mechanical battling beasts. Using everything from melon ballers to huge saws, they they sculpted extraordinary and intricate ghouls, witches, wizards, goblins, werewolves, and monsters. As someone who is severely pumpkin-challenged (and eventually purchased a permanent Jack O-Lantern complete with an electric light), I’m amazed by the skill of these artists.
Devotions of the Heart 