The Big Picture

 

By Andrea Merrell

And we know that all things work together 

for good to those who love God,

to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 NKJV

 

With the edges firmly in place, we went to work on the inner portion of the puzzle. With so much similarity in colors and all the oddly shaped pieces, it turned out to be quite the challenge. Just when we thought we had it mastered, something didn’t quite fit.

Jigsaw puzzles have been around since the 1700s and come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. The key to putting them together—and many times the only way to keep our sanity— is an occasional glance at the picture on the top of the box.

Our life is much like one of those puzzles, especially when the pieces don’t seem to fit together and we have no picture to go by.

The good news for us is that God already sees and knows the big picture, and He lovingly and methodically puts the pieces in place as we learn to trust Him. In the same way we can’t force the puzzle together, we can’t force portions of our life to line up the way we want them to when God has other plans. When we try to make it happen, the picture gets distorted.

We’re all familiar with the Scripture about all things working together for good (Romans 8:28), but I love the way the Passion translation explains it:

So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son.

The big picture for us is being conformed to the image and likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus, and only the Father knows what that looks like for each of us.

Trust Him to put all the pieces—even the broken and ragged ones—of your life together. The results will be amazing, and you won’t be disappointed.

Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash