Have you ever experienced a time when you were able to see the pieces of a puzzle come together right before your eyes? You know the kind… when seemingly random situations happen one after another, where you may or may not have been praying specifically about a particular thing, but you can see God orchestrating moves like that of a perfectly played chess game. It may have started out as an innocent conversation between two people on the surface that went to another level mid-sentence. Then all of a sudden, you find a common interest and you realize, God’s up to something. This lady is the daughter of the guy you have been trying to connect with for the last 6 months about a thing God whispered in your ear a few months prior to that… . I’m sure you can fill in the blanks with your own adventure.
What I love the most about spiritual set ups is that you will get to a certain point in the story when you say, “Ohhh… I get it now!!!” When God starts to reveal Himself and His plan to you, it all finally starts making sense. When the person you met a couple of months ago gave you that cool book that was preparing you for this very moment in time. And don’t forget about the elderly man on the train that told you about that beautiful place you should put on your ‘bucket list’. The light-bulb goes off in your mind as you put the very delicate pieces of the proverbial puzzle in place. This is the moment when you realize you’ve walked right into the middle of a set up. A God set up. Initially triggered by a desire in your heart to step out and find out a bit more about that thing God laid on your heart some time ago.
When you look back on that “some time ago” moment, do you remember asking the Lord how could that possibly happen? Or simply saying, “Naw… I can’t do that”, or “Nothing good ever happens to me”. Wow! How many things have we approached like that over the years? Where God shares a secret of His heart with yours and you immediately go into problem-solving mode to figure out how you’re going to make it happen. Ahem… remember who gave you the secret desire in the first place?? He gave you the desire, surely He will give you the blueprint to bring it about. When it seems like nothing is coming together, simply go to the Lord and ask Him what’s going on in the background that you may not be privy to at the moment. There are conversations happening in the heavenlies and here on earth where you are the prime subject. Perhaps you are the one the Lord is placing before kings and queens to speak on His behalf. He will cause the mountains to move in-order for the vision He gave you to come to pass. Understand that He is the Creator and we are His creation. He allows us to collaborate on His projects, on His missions, on His plans of action.
We need to keep these adventures in perspective as it’s not about us. It’s all about Him. We get to be a part of it, because that is His desire. He loves us enough to bring us into the adventure with Him. Yes it will cost us, just as it costs Him. Our obedience costs us. Obedience is of value to Him and is costly to us. It may cost us everything to follow Him in the place of adventure and opportunity, but know this… if He’s called you, He will equip you, and in-order to equip you, He’ll wreck you and when He wrecks you, He means business with you. If He means business with you, surely He will protect you and keep you, and cause His face to shine upon you. No, this doesn’t mean everything will look perfect, feel perfect, be perfect, but it does mean that He will have your back in every instance. No matter what! He promises never to leave us nor forsake us… NEVER. That’s a big deal! Never means never!
The Lord was speaking to me the other day about the fact that only the things that are filtered through His hands can touch us. That means even those seemingly negative experiences will be used by Him to bring about good in our lives and the lives of others. So as I saw in my mind’s eye a picture of His big hands cupped with my life’s experiences flowing through His fingers as sand through an hour-glass, He further explained to me that these experiences were being filtered and not merely slipping through the cracks of his fingers. The implications of that are huge! That means He is purposely filtering things on our behalf allowing some things to take place and others not to. His grace and mercy are also factors in that filtering process. Certain natural consequences of our choices and behaviour may be allowed to occur for a purpose beyond our understanding, while other times we are spared. We can’t often make rhyme or reason of it, but when we finally arrive on the other side of the situation, that’s when we have the God perspective we needed in the beginning. As now we can see the end from the beginning and realize what an awesome God we serve.
It’s usually difficult going through, but know that when it’s a divine set up He will ALWAYS have your back, no matter what the circumstances and your circles of influence around you may be uttering. He promises never to leave you nor forsake you. Take that to the bank! No seriously… you can take that to the bank. When the house is going into foreclosure, when bankruptcy is eminent, when the bills have come due and there’s nowhere to turn; whatever your situation is ask Him to show you His strategy to dealing with the situation at hand. Trust Him and allow Him to orchestrate your way (especially when it doesn’t make sense to you in the natural). Test and prove Him and in the midst of it, remember to be still and KNOW that He is God. And because He is God, He will always have your back! Expect a spiritual set up in your situation as He works on your behalf to work all things for your ultimate good and His ultimate glory.
Remain Blessed!
T