"I must realize that God's ways are not my ways, and that is especially true in dealing with ruined things. My first inclination, when confronted with ruin, is to say, "it is finished, it's done, that's all there is to it." But God never gives up on a ruin; in fact, He begins with ruins and works on them until He transforms them into things of beauty, "beauty for ashes" ( Isaiah 61:3, KJV). Ruined things are my defeat, but to God they are opportunity.
"When the earth was without form, and void" (Geneses 1:2, KJV) God sent His Spirit and His light to bring order out of chaos and beauty out of blackness. What He did physically for the original earth He does spiritually for people. It is a truth- there are no ruined people in God's category, only opportunities for God to display His creative power. There are no hopeless aspects of my personality, only aspects that are waiting to be touched by the power-driven fingers of God.
The greatest ruin of all was Calvary, and look how God turned that horrible nightmare into the cradle of salvation for all men. Is my problem worse than Calvary? Is any problem more bleak, more foreboding than that? The disciples-like all of us- considered Calvary a hopeless smashing of all their plans and dreams. They forsook Christ, fled for their lives, and considered all their work so much debris. Yet, by the third day their evening turned to morning and a complete restoration of their ruin took place. What a God! That is how He treats ruins whether His Son's or mine! If I let Him, He will take the shattered portions of my life and build them into a breathtaking ornament of beauty. Such a God is He!
"Fear not, for you will not be put to shame, neither feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; but you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of you widowhood you will remember no more" (Isaiah 54:4)
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