“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)
One of my hobbies is paper quilling. This involves taking thin strips of coloured paper and rolling them tightly around a spool, into a tight circle. After removing the finished circle, you can release the coils to the size you need, to then configure the circle into various shapes. There are approximately a dozen different shapes you can make from the original circle. The shapes are then glued to a card to form pictures. It is a tedious, yet rewarding hobby when I view the finished product.
Working on this hobby reminds me of life. We all possess life; it is the common denominator, or “circle” in all of our journeys in this world. Each life however, is molded and shaped on a continuous basis due to the circumstances and people who enter it. These experiences and relationships have the power to create something beautiful and fulfilling or the opposite, depending upon how we allow them to affect us.
There are times when I feel that events or people, in my circle of life, are crushing, oppressing or influencing me in unhealthy ways and I become angry or distraught, confused or frustrating trying to not only make sense of what is happening, but how to handle it in such a way that these negatives are turned into positives. At such moments, turning to today’s Scripture verse becomes a pivotal point as I remember and trust in God’s ability to work these negative life events into something good in my life. I am reminded that when I turn everything over to Him that He is able to bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair, that we might be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Knowing and trusting in God’s power to make a negative into a positive assures me that the various shapes that my life is sometimes twisted into, can all turn out to be beautiful and for my best by the time He is finished with them, even though in the moment, it is hard for me to fathom such a transformation.
How about you? Are you struggling with events that are seeking to shape you in ways that are causing distress and anxiety? Have life’s circumstances turned your positives into negatives? If so, take a step in faith by turning them over to God who is ready and waiting to work all of them for good in your life, if you will only allow him to do so.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that You are a God of transformation and positive change, take my negatives this day and work them for good in my life. In Christ’s name. Amen.
Lynne Phipps
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada