Kaleidoscope

My precious wife shared with me a quote that she had heard.

"When we pray the heart of God and man align."

Because of our humanity we are not shielded nor able to escape the issues of pain, hardship, and suffering that awaits every mortal being. The beauty of our relationship with God, and I would even say the purpose, is how His grace and power works through the frailties of our life; displaying His manifold power in the deepest and darkest valley's of our human experience.

People who live outside of this alignment constitutes the majority of mankind. It is among the masses in which we derive a vocabulary of words with seemingly universal application. For example; the word bad, in the sense of badness, is the opposite of good. Bad is bad. If I say to you that I am good you would not think bad. Good is good; bad is bad. However, the carnal words; used by man; cosmopolitan in use; are irrelevant and pale to a spiritual lexicon and perspective. Only in alignment with God; through the lens of faith; do we regard our life and circumstances differently. In Christ we trust in a broader picture; not judged by what is happening but rather in what He is making; thus receiving all things in sanctity and accordance; conforming to His will and purpose.

In other words...If my neighbor, a non-believer, reached out to God only after suffering a near fatal accident, then what was bad...was actually good. Better to enter heaven with one eye than into hell with two.

Kaleidoscope by definition is a complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes.
God is never changing...but we are ever-changing...through the inescapable impact of life. In this journey of our faith we discover that our God is greater than all of our sin and shame, fears and failures. When aligned with Him, the kaleidoscope of our life is constantly changing; refined; conformed; renewed.

As Andre Crouch would sing,
"if I never had a problem... I would never know that God could solve them"

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
I have known crises in my life...as have many of you. Most by my own doing and at other times blindsided. In frailty and fear you want to give up and quit. When life and its mysteries comes crashing in it leaves you feeling hopeless and helpless...then...deep calls unto deep. Your faith says...

"A festering thorn can break you...
but with God...IT CAN MAKE YOU ."

You may be encircled this very moment with the adversities of life; pitiful; bewildered; loathing you're very self. Others; with their carnal eyes; fleshy thoughts; simple minds; will tell you how to feel, what to do, how to act.
In that moment you must remember, at your worst He found you and now; in your state; your rightful place at His table; you must align to His ever-changing design for your life.

When God has surrounded you, even in the presence of your enemies, your cup will overflow. You learn that indeed...He works all things together for good; conforming you to His image. What some meant for evil or the enemy as defeat, God meant for good; to be transformed; renewed; changed.

As vessels of clay we can't hide our cracks, blemishes, and scars...rather we are to reveal His grace within; the treasure of His children; showing that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
JMT

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