A WORD IN PASSING - JANUARY 2020
God Sees the Bigger Picture!
Jigsaw puzzles were never one of my childhood favourites. With my short attention span, I avoided any board game that took too long to finish. That remained until a year ago when we were given two Jigsaw Puzzles and we started putting together the first one and later followed by the other. I soon found it enthralling and I became a Jigsaw aficionado!
Completing a Jigsaw puzzle brings a feeling of achievement and satisfaction, plus the exciting “Wow!” moment when I lean back to admire and brush my hand over the completed 1500 pieces! As I was putting the pieces together, I found myself reflecting on the analogies between Jigsaw puzzling and the Christian life.
Patience. It takes a lot of patience to complete a puzzle. In our Christian walk, we also need patience. It's not always easy but we must wait on the Lord, be strong and let our hearts take courage. (Psalm 27:14) There are instances when God allows our patience to develop and our trust in Him to grow so we can confidently
say that “he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job 23:10)
Time. It takes time to complete a puzzle. No one opens a new box of a 1,500 pieces Jigsaw puzzle and completes it in five minutes! At times progress in our Christian walk may seem slow but God promises to make all things beautiful in his time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Perseverance. Puzzles can be tricky, even daunting – especially at the beginning. Likewise, we may well feel a degree of trepidation at the beginning of our Christian life but God’s assuring and encouraging word is that we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9).
We may only see the ‘pieces’ as we walk the road of faith but God sees the bigger picture, he sees our
beginning and ending. So press on!
- Esther Pulham (January 2020)