A few words from a devotional I started reading this morning, that intrigued a whole chain of thoughts... :
"There is one Author and there is one Story. And the all-knowing Author knew how the story would end, even as he penned the seas and swarmed them with living creatures, and as He breathed life into the man whose sin would one day nail Him to a tree.
And knowing all of that – knowing that He was creating the plants and yielding the seeds that would one day be his cross, that the beasts of the fields would need to be used as sacrifices for His people – knowing this then, the Author and Creator saw it all and called it good.
But why? It may seem trite to say, but the answer is love. He made the world perfect knowing that it would become imperfect and that He would make it new again. And hard as it may be to believe, He did it for the process. God had the power to skip right to the end, or to never create the world to begin with. But he did create it, and he did it to show Himself to us, that we might know Him. That we might know the breadth and length and height and depth of his love for us (Eph 3:18); that we might experience His grace."
The process.
God foreknew every action of what His creation would do; how it might retaliate; or even how it might love Him. Although He foreknew His suffering, He did it anyways-- all for the sake of knowing Him!
Though sometimes we look at our trials, hard times or suffering and question God, "What in the world are you doing?!" -- He knows. It's all about the process.
If God were to give us all of the answers, solve our problems the minute they happen, or give us the details of our future, all that we would know about God is His divine ability to be a genie. The beauty of the unknown is that in the midst of it, God is making himself known to us.. In the middle of our problems or suffering, God doesn't necessarily take away the problem, but reveals more of His sustaining grace to show us He truly is all that we need.
Think about it...
Without struggling through finances, we wouldn't see that God is our provider, cares about every one of our needs, and will open the skies-- and make a miracle to provide for his kids.
Without heartbreak, we wouldn't realize God is our greatest comforter, healer and lover of every inch of our being
Without the lonely nights of sorrow, we wouldn't experience the overwhelming presence of the Lord's hand resting upon us, whispering words of His love in our ear
Without waiting, we wouldn't be able to see God's promises be fulfilled or rejoice with Him after we've seen Him come through in a mighty way. Our faith would stay flatlined.
Without discomfort, we wouldn't see that comfort comes from resting in Him and His Word, and have the wonderful opportunity to live a life saturated in God's glorious presence.
All in all, without trials or rough seasons, we wouldn't be able to experience God's sufficiency. Oddly, it's in our areas/ times of weakness, that we see His hand reach in and intervene in the most incredible ways.
So, what are you facing?
Let's take joy in the fact that whatever our circumstance is , God is going to reveal Himself to us in such a beautiful way. In a way that will change your mind and heart, and help shape you into the person you were created to be. He is working ALL things out for the good of those who love Him.
Though flashing through our problems would be nice,
It's all about the process.
