Jigsaw Puzzle WORD PICTURE: JIGSAW PUZZLE
Scriptural Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:18-20
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
1. Have someone(s) read the scriptures from various translations.
2. Using one piece from a jigsaw puzzle, explain how hard it is for us to see where our tiny little experience fits in the whole scheme of things. God is sovereign -- He alone sees the puzzle as complete. We just don’t. So, when a prayer seems like it should be answered Yes (not No as per the above scripture), we just don’t get it.
3. My sharing, offered to spark sharing by others.
What I Shared
Let’s think about healing. When I received a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, all I knew was that God wants to be glorified in my life -- and I knew He knew that I would let Him be no matter what happens. It was nice to hear myself really saying that, and really meaning it. I sounded like Job saying, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Where I arrived in working through this situation was in the lap of God, who promises THAT a miracle is granted – not HOW or WHEN. He alone sees the piece of the puzzle and just where it fits. Sometimes His ways simply evade me, but God says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
Our God does not fit in a box, so I’m not going to squash Him into mine. I am trying not to be too literal about my prayer requests. All I know is that God is working on it once He’s been invited in.
My question is -- how do you read the promises of God when all you can see is one tiny part of the puzzle?
All Scripture references from the New International Version of the Bible (NIV).
Copyright by Whitney McKendree Moore, April 2007