A snowstorm left my family and I stuck at home, which gave us time to put a puzzle together.  As we sorted the pieces, I found myself wondering what we all must wonder when the puzzle is still completely fragmented . . . “How are these pieces going to fit together to make any sort of sense?”

The sorting continues, putting this piece over there, this piece over here.  Two fit together, then three, four and so on.  It begins to take shape.  Then you find a piece that you really think should fit in a spot . . . you turn it around, try again . . . it just doesn’t fit . . . then someone else sticks a piece in that spot that you wouldn’t have thought would fit . . . and yet it does.  I guess this is why putting a puzzle together is good exercise for our minds; it stretches us to consider and reconsider options.

There is usually a point in every puzzle production where only the “tough” pieces are left scattered on the table . . . finding a home for these pieces seems to take the longest . . . we think about giving up on the puzzle, wondering if we even have all the right pieces . . . but we press on because we want to see the complete picture . . .

Unfortunately, there are times in our lives when we feel like only the “tough” pieces are left on the table.  We really don’t see how they will fit together.  We keep trying to look at each piece from a different perspective to see what we can make of it.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  Psalm 27:14

It is at this point that we are wise to rely on the One who created us and loves us and is able to make all things work together for good . . . the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is able to look upon the completed picture of our lives, even now, while the pieces are still coming together for us.  His plans for you and His plans for me are for good . . . even when we cannot imagine how good could possibly come from what we are going through.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

All of us at Inheritance of Hope trust in these promises of God.  I pray that you also know these promises and find them to be trustworthy.  During this season of Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago, spend time seeking Him and accepting the hope He has extended to you.  As you seek Him and trust Him, He is able to show you how all the difficult pieces of your life fit together, for good.

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