Hope When Life Just Doesn’t Make Sense
STACY LOWE
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“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
My life has a lot of moving parts that I’m constantly trying to keep organized. But speaking reminders into my phone is a great way to help.
Instead of voicing well-structured sentences and ideas, though, I tend to speak in a shortened code of sorts. Most of the time, this works out well. Sometimes, though? Not so much.
Not too long ago, I spoke such a direction to my phone. Instead of complying, my phone verbalized that it didn’t understand what I meant. Not that it couldn’t understand the words, but it didn’t understand the meaning behind them.
I tried again with the same results. Frustrated, I spoke at my phone, “You don’t need to understand because I know what it means. Please just do what I’m asking!”
Truthfully, though, I can relate to my phone. Maybe you can, too.
There are days I wonder what in the world God could possibly be up to with my life. Surely, this piece of who and how I am couldn’t possibly be a part of His plan. This piece must be a mistake.
But then there are today’s key verses from Isaiah:
“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
If God’s thoughts are nothing like my own, and neither are His ways, it stands to reason there will be times when I don’t understand. There will be situations where nothing makes sense to me. And that can be hard because I want to know how it all fits together. If I could just understand the purpose behind this one thing, it would make it all so much easier to swallow.
Just like my phone, though, I don’t need to know what it all means — because He does.
God sees a far bigger picture than we could ever hope to grasp. He sees how each part of who and how we are fits into the tapestry He’s been weaving since before time began. Even those broken pieces from living in a broken world are made into something beautiful and useful when placed in His hands.
While we may not understand it all in the moment, one day we will. One day, we will see how God lovingly looked after each and every detail of our lives to bring His plans and purposes to fruition. Until then, we can remember God’s incredible love for us and choose to trust Him.
That’s what I’m choosing today. Will you do the same?
Father, life can be hard, and sometimes none of it seems to make sense. There are times I really wish I could see the bigger picture. But You do. And You also love me more than I could ever imagine. Help me to remember that and trust You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
Psalm 139:16, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (NLT)
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (NLT)
In life’s challenging moments, it can be difficult to understand what God is up to and how this part of your life can be used for good. But there are likely such moments in the past you can now look back on and see with perfect clarity how He was moving. Take some time today to ask God to remind you of some of those moments.
How does remembering God’s past faithfulness give you hope for where you are today? We’d love for you to share about it with us in the comments.
© 2022 by Stacy Lowe. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
