I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will. Isaiah 46:10 (HCSB)
Have you ever tried to put together a jigsaw puzzle with at least a thousand pieces? That has been considered a winter sport in our home over the years. At first glance into the large box of tiny freeform pieces, it’s hard to imagine they will form a picture. Some indeed are really laborious, for example, the one of 101 Dalmatians!
We usually undertake the task by looking for the corner and border pieces. From the corner pieces we can build a framework for the entire puzzle. Likewise in life, unless we start correctly with the correct Corner(stone), our attempts to solve our puzzle will be futile. Jesus must get pre-eminence. Following on, the straight edges in the jigsaw of our lives are the boundaries God has set in place in His Word. This gives structure and cohesion to our lives.
Thankfully, the full picture of the completed puzzle is always on the box-top and God sees the lid. He knows how to put all the pieces of our lives together, which means we don’t have to struggle but simply surrender to His plan and trust Him.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do,
and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
As we trust Him, piece by piece of the jigsaw is put into place. I can’t think of a better way to solve a jigsaw puzzle than by letting the puzzle’s creator tell me where to interlock the pieces of life. Gradually life’s landscape beings to make sense.
It is inevitable that at some point in putting a jigsaw together we will try to put a wrong piece in the wrong place. No matter how much we force the wrong piece into the wrong place it will never fit and if we get it in, it will knock all the other pieces out of place. Don’t force what God has endorsed. Simply return to God’s plan knowing each piece is strategic and part of the box top, carefully created by an all-knowing, all-wise and all-loving God. He is the one who has planned all our days and therefore He knows what’s best for us. Remember, He sees the lid!