Puzzle Pieces of Life

Does the question of “Who am I - in God’s plan?" ever come to mind? I think that is one of the greatest questions we can ever ask ourselves.

My youngest and I were putting together a puzzle and when we came to the last piece of puzzle we realized we were missing a piece. The puzzle was incomplete even though we had the majority of pieces put together. The full picture of the puzzle was incomplete and we quickly saw that our efforts had been useless and a waste of time because we didn’t have that last piece of the puzzle.

That can be our life to... without Jesus. If we do not have Christ we can never complete or make sense of this life… which with the natural eye is just a jumble of pieces. We need Christ to complete our life and to make sense of all those pieces.

We may have created a lot of those pieces through our actions or someone else may have created some of those pieces (positive or negative) but it Christ that makes all those pieces come together. It is Jesus who heals the life. It is Jesus who builds up a life. It is Jesus who guides and directs the paths of those who are graciously given his righteousness. It is Jesus who transforms forms the jumble pieces into a complete picture. It is Jesus who transforms those pieces into something fulfilling and useful.

"So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins." Colossians 1:9-14

But without Christ our lives are just a bunch of puzzle pieces… a puzzle never completed.

We searched all over that bedroom for that missing puzzle piece because we wanted to finish the puzzle but we could not find it.

You know what happened to those puzzles pieces that we couldn’t complete?

Yep... the same thing that happened to our Spider-man, Superman, HE-MAN puzzles (or for the gals - Wonder Woman, Barbie, Cabbage Patch, Holly Hobbie, and Strawberry Shortcake puzzles) that I lost their pieces. We had to throw them into the trash. The pieces were deemed no longer useful.

You and I, however can find that puzzle piece that makes everything come together and make sense -if we choose to.

Jer 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.

1Ch 28:9 "And Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your ancestors. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and with a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and understands and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

Pro 3:6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

Hsa 10:12 I said, `Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'

Hbr 11:6 So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Rev 3:19-22 Jesus says “I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches."