“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  -Jeremiah 29:11

I’ve heard this verse many times and it’s usually one that gets pulled out when people are going through hard times. I wonder if other people view this verse like I used to. A part of me held onto this verse like a lifeline to keep me afloat. The other part of me got mad at this verse. I asked how could what I was going through possibly prosper me for the future. Yet when I listened to this part of me, I gave God so little credit. He’s so much bigger than anything I’ve ever been through.

Maybe that’s the case with you. Some parts of your life you understand, but other parts are confusing and they just don’t make sense. But imagine our lives are like a puzzle. As we go through our lives, God gives us pieces of our puzzle. Sometimes He gives us pieces that fit nicely with the other ones we have. We may think we know exactly where we’re going or what the end will be like. But then sometimes He gives us a dark piece that just doesn’t seem to fit with the others. It doesn’t make sense. When this happens, we must remember that we don’t have all the puzzle pieces. In fact, we really don’t know what the big picture will be because we don’t hold the puzzle box. God does. So when we’re given a piece that doesn’t make sense, we trust God that this piece wasn’t given to us as a mistake. It was given to us because it is necessary for the big picture.

Prayer:

Lord, I do trust you. I trust that every piece of my life is necessary for the big picture. Walk with me during the times of confusion and help me focus on You and Your promises.

Question:

What do you do with the confusing pieces of your life?

Challenge:

If there’s a part of your life that you don’t get – either now or in your past, write it out. Be honest with how you feel. Turn that journaling into a prayer and ask God to come into that situation and walk through that with you.

Outreach Challenge:

Christians have such a bad reputation for being horrible tippers. Servers dread the Sunday church crowd. Next Sunday, without drawing loads of attention to yourself or boasting, go out to a restaurant and tip more than you normally would.