Have you ever played Chutes and Ladders? It’s the game where you flick a spinner and you are constantly either climbing up or sliding down. You’re thrilled when you land on a square with a ladder because you get to climb up and skip 50 spaces! It’s depressing, though, when you are about to win . . . and all of a sudden you slide all the way back to the beginning. There’s no skill involved. No plan. You get what you get.
In Ecclesiastes 8:7, wise King Solomon said life is kind of like Chutes and Ladders: “They don’t know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out?” We really don’t know what will happen tomorrow. A surprise A+ on a test will leave you feeling like you’re climbing up a ladder. Maybe you fall and break your wrist, making you feel like you just slid all the way back to the beginning.
This might scare you—if you didn’t believe in Jesus. As a child of God, though, you know that the Almighty is watching out for you, “that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan” (Romans 8:28).
Life isn’t just luck. Your God sees your life and is actively involved in making the great moments work out for your good. He is also actively involved in taking what you think are setbacks and using them to bless you even more than before. Every flick of the spinner fits into God’s plan.
Chomp on this!
How have you seen God turn a setback into a blessing?
