God Holds All the Pieces

Isaiah 55:8-9 
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith 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.

I love jigsaw puzzles! It’s so much fun to open a new puzzle and run my fingers through the box, making sure all the pieces are separated. Then I spread them out on the table and start sorting them by color, design and texture until I have a multitude of piles. Of course, I start by finding the edge pieces and making the frame. That’s the easy part!  Then patiently, carefully, gradually the scene unfolds as one by one each piece goes into place.

One time our family did a very large puzzle that took days to piece together. With great excitement we slipped the last few pieces in place, only to discover that the very last piece was missing! We looked high and low but it just wasn’t anywhere to be found. I kept hoping one of the children was playing a trick on us and was hiding the missing piece in his hand. But no, the piece was simply gone, leaving us with an incomplete picture on the table. I was frustrated and frazzled!

Much of life is like a puzzle. It’s easy to focus only on bits and pieces and fail to look toward the end result. Or when things don’t seem to come together and the gaps in the picture produce confusion, life may seem hopeless or out of control. Gradually depression and anxiety creep in and steal away the joy and peace of the present, and the hope for the future.  

But God is in control. He’s the One holding all of the pieces, and at just the right time, He can and will put them in place to make a beautiful picture out of even the most difficult and trying situation. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. His plan and purpose are much higher than anything you and I can comprehend. We can rest assured that one day He will slip that last piece into place and the picture of life will be complete. With God, there are no missing pieces. What comfort to know that He holds all the pieces in His sovereign hands. Not one of them is lost or misplaced.

By Ann Shorb
©Copyright Ann Shorb, 2006

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Related articles and devotionals:
His Grace is Sufficient
Under His Wings
Be Still and Know
The Beauty of Creation

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Changes That Heal: How to Understand Your Past to Ensure a Healthier Future By Dr. Henry Cloud / Zondervan In Changes That Heal, Dr. Cloud takes the reader step-by-step through the four basic tasks of becoming mature image bearers of God. They are: Bonding to others, Separating from others, Sorting out good and bad in ourselves and others, and Becoming an adult. Dr. Cloud not only explains and describes each task, he also identifies the problems that result when we fail to accomplish that task, and he shows us what changes to make in our lives in order to bring about healing.