we see a dim reflection
this side of eternity
the knotted imperfection
of an unfinished tapestry
creation’s artist sees a masterpiece
wisdom weaving its design
everything made beautiful
in its perfect time
poetry by j.e. fernandez
Photo Credit: weaving hands | on a loom in the iron age | Hans Splinter | Flickr
I recently attended a birthday party where my kids received tokens to play games for which they could win tickets. After depleting their supply of tokens, they took their tickets to the exchange counter, hearts hopeful their few hours of play would earn a decent prize. With expectancy in their eyes, they gazed up at the toys, games, and oversized stuffed animals looming before them.
How disappointing when the desk clerk re-directed their gaze to the sparse supply of mini-candies behind the glass counter. Yes, 1,000 tickets would earn a prize. Three bite-sized candies.
At least my kids are easily contented enough to be satisfied with a night of fun and a few chocolates. But I’ll have to admit, my calculations of token cost to ticket wins to actual prize results left me doubtful I’d return to that venue apart from another party invitation. All that work earning tickets failed to yield a worthy result.
It got me thinking of another promise of a greater exchange: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Here, we are told that ALL THINGS will be used for good by the God whom we love. The blessed. The bad. The painful. The tear-rending. ALL will one day be redeemed. ALL will be used for good.
And we will not be disappointed.
God makes good on his promises. He will not give us a handful of candy in exchange for our trials. One day, whether here on earth or in the glory of heaven, we will see. God, the master designer, weaves good from every thread of pain wrought on this earth. That’s what makes him God.
He alone is able to redeem the worst of circumstances to bring forth something beautiful.
A precious woman named Corrie ten Boom endured the deepest of hells in a World War II concentration camp. After losing her Father and her sister to the ravages of suffering, she was able to stand and say, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” I can’t imagine coming through such horrors with confident assurance of God’s goodness. Yet Corrie knew that somehow, in some way, all her suffering would yield a greater return both here and in the age to come.
We may think that all the suffering life brings is reason enough to end our own. But the knowledge that we have a God who is able to bring beauty from ashes, joy from tears, and praise from despair is reason enough to live.
Now my kids’ short-lived disappointment in getting a less-than-expected prize is nothing compared to the disappointment many of us have experienced in life. But it serves as a timely reminder that IN GOD’S HANDS, nothing is wasted. He will exchange all our suffering for something good. We can’t see it now, but one day, we will see. And it’s gonna be worth it.
Photo Credit: Caves Background 1 Free Stock Photo – Public Domain Pictures
why the hunger and the thirst,
why the war and death and grief?
why the sickness with no cure
and the pain with no relief?
why the child without a home
and the outcast with no friend?
why the family without hope
and the suffering without end?
why the questions without answers
and the life that ends too soon?
what’s the purpose for this madness
God, dare i question you?
when will you enter in?
will you ever intervene?
can’t you simply lift your hand
to end this suffering?
and yet, you turn to me
a question for my ears…
do i not realize
i can answer my own prayers?
can i not lift my hands
to heal the hurt i see?
can i not enter in,
can i not intervene?
you suffered on the cross
and bore our every pain
then gave to us the work
told us go do the same
and i’m beginning now to see
that the answer lies with me
the things i’ve left undone
the pain that i’ve refused to see
the cries that i’ve ignored
the lives that i’ve betrayed
by turning from their eyes
choosing numbness over pain
how can i question God?
how can i complain?
i cast on him the blame
when it is i who bear the shame
poem copyright Jenna Fernandez
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
Photo Credit: Free photo: Fire Fighter, Rescue – Free Image on …
Here we have a choice. We can wallow in the mire of suffering until it overtakes our resolve to live. Or we can finally declare: “It’s not about me.”
Photo Credit: File:Fork in the road near Pillaton – geograph.org.uk – 1029422 …
In a sea of carnage, engulfed by enemy gunfire and immersed in the ravages of war, Desmond Doss had every reason to join his comrades, scale the cliff, and return to the relative safety of the military base. Instead, he remained in the hellish battle; rooted in the knowledge he was there for a purpose though despairing he couldn’t hear God’s voice amid the clamor of war.
Until a faint voice cried out in the distance. “Help.”
Armed only with a ragged Bible, Doss scoured the grisly landscape of death for signs of life. One by one he snatched devastated bodies from the grip of the grave, lowering them with painstaking care over the side of the cliff; again and again he returned, risking his life with each venture until some 75 comrades were lowered to safety.
I can’t imagine emerging from even five minutes of battle unscathed mentally and emotionally. The average person would drown in the unmerciful memories. War would seem the ultimate weapon in conjuring 13 Reasons Why to give up on life.
And yet, in the midst of one of the fiercest of World War II battles, Desmond Doss found a reason to live. “Give me one more, Lord,” he prayed repeatedly until his mission was complete, staying true to his conviction: “With the world so set on tearing itself apart, it don’t seem like such a bad thing…to want to put a little bit of it back together.”
Any honest person could easily come up with a list of 13 Reasons Why to plan a swift escape from this sin-sick world. Maybe if pain weren’t standing guard before death, more of us would already have left the madness of earth far behind.
But here we have a choice. We can wallow in the mire of suffering until it overtakes our resolve to live. Or we can finally declare: “It’s not about me.”
Desmond Doyle survived war without a weapon in hand, emerged from the fire a hero because of this one choice he made. He did not cower in fear of the greatest giant known to mankind. He did not succumb to complacency, savagery, or despair.
Instead, he listened for that one voice crying, “Help.” And then another, and another. And little by little, he put a small part of the world back together.
Maybe if we adopted this grand mission of putting even the smallest pieces of our own corners of this world back together, we would find our purpose is far greater than ourselves. And we would find that is more than enough reason…to live.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Photo Credit: Free photo: Sunset, Sea, Ocean, Water, Sun – Free Image on Pixabay …
This Life & Beyond 
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