There is a meteorite crater in Soshanguve, South Africe, known as the “Tswaing Meteorite Crater”. At some point in Earth’s history, it is clear that a large meteorite slammed into Earth, forming a half-mile (one Kilometer) wide crater.

The early native people collected salt deposits from the lake at the bottom of the crater, calling it “place of salt” or “Tswaing”. Currently surrounded by hiking trails, the crater is now a beautiful tourist attraction.

I have to wonder what a “disaster” this would have been considered at the time the meteorite that created this crater struck the Earth’s crust. Anything at the point of impact would have been eradicated completely, including any and all plant and animal life, as well as anything else that might have been built there. Of course, we have no way of knowing what, if anything, was destroyed upon impact; but it is interesting to speculate about how devastating it must have been at the time. Now, however, the Tswaing Meteorite Crater is a thing of great beauty, with its deep blue waters, the greenery coming up towards the edge, and the band of brown that separates the forest from the water. If I am ever blessed to be able to visit South Africa, this will definitely be on my “to visit” list!

When we look around us now, we also see things of great beauty. I am talking about God’s nature, yes. But I am also talking about relationships. Or maybe you are blessed with good health or a good job. Or maybe by some unknown set of circumstances, you’ve had the privledge of adopting a loyal, beautiful pet into your home, a definite gift of God. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, just what sets of circumstances must have been brought together in order for that blessing that you have been given to come to be. Were the circumstances positive? Probably not.

Let’s take, for example, the beautiful baby you have adopted. A real gift of God. But what circumstances brought that baby to you? Maybe the child was taken away from her birth mother for fear of abuse. Or maybe she was rejected by her birth family. Maybe there were already too many mouths to feed in her birth family. Maybe she was rejected because she was a girl. Maybe she was a result of rape, or perhaps the birth mother actually loved the child enough to give her away, knowing that she would have a much better life somewhere else.

Yes, that is a beautiful baby; but the circumstances leading up to you adopting her were not so pretty…

I could go on with many other examples, but the point is this: For every good thing in life, there is the possibility that there were negative circumstances leading up to it.

Now take yourself back a bit in history. When those negative circumstances were surrounding you, you would have had no way of knowing that God would somehow use those trials to bring about something beautiful. Yet He did. Just as He has promised: “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 NIV)

Keep this in mind as you navigate your current set of troubles. Just like that meteorite that crashed into what is now known as the country of South Africa caused plenty of devastation but is now a thing of beauty, God will also turn whatever you are going through into something beautiful. You may never be the recipient of the ultimate blessing, but you can rest assured that someone will be, for God keeps ALL His promises (See Deut. 7:9), including the one to make something beautiful out of our troubles!

In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries