What if you knew you were right in the midst of God's perfect plan? Would that shock you? "How can this be", you ask, "my (heart, bank account, ambition, or car) is broke! So how am I in the midst of God's perfect plan?!"
We think of God's perfect plan as a wonderful path lined with gumdrops, puppies and sunshine...we think of smooth sailing without a cloud in sight...we think of a freshly paved road without any bumps or potholes and ALL our friends and family are smiling and cheering us on because it's evident that THIS is God's perfect plan!
But God does perfect different than that: God's perfect plan can have numerous twists and turns...but it always ends perfect.
So how do we know that God works this way? Besides the numerous life stories recorded in the Bible that worked out this way, God also shows us His nature IN NATURE!
Take a look at forest fires. God is the One who devised forest fires to keep forests healthy! But when we hear about a forest fire, it's a breaking news bulletin! It's a catastrophe! We need to put it out before this devastating fire robs us of a national treasure! But God uses these fires to clear out crowded forests so each and every tree gets enough water, sunlight, and space. The forest can now grow stronger and healthier than the pre-fire forest could have ever dreamed of being. Sorry, Smokey! Sometimes we can’t prevent forest fires!
Our lives can look like that forest fire. It's painful! It's harsh! Maybe it's personally devastating and will take years to fully recover from. We don't understand why God would do such a terrible thing!
Then the news crews show up: suddenly people are watching. They're observing right along with us. And this "haphazard" following is all part of God's plan: God gave us a platform in the midst of our tragedy and we have an underdog story to tell! We're the new poster child of the long shot, the dark horse, the chance in hell. And everybody watches as God helps us rebuild. But this time we rebuild with perspective and purpose. We now know the difference between the meaningful and the frivolous. We recognize substance, we no longer confuse it for hollow fillers. And we are FULLY AWAKE to the fact that we couldn't have made it one step away from that forest fire without Jesus, who lit a new fire within us.
"Light yourself on fire and the world will come to watch you burn." God's perfect plan will not only bring us from point A to point B, but He'll also use our journey to impact everyone who came to watch. God's perfect plan will be a blessing to more than just ourselves. He'll use our journey as inspiration for a song, a story, a business idea, a book, or even compassion for our fellow man that we wouldn't have had without our trek.
In the end, the forest fire did what God designed it to do: it brought the forest/our lives past simply surviving to thriving! Now isn't that perfect?!
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