We talked tonight about Acts 18:9-10 and the vision God gave to Paul. God encouraged Paul. He assured Paul of His presence with him at all times, as well as His protection. He also reminded Paul of His sovereignty.We looked up a few Scriptures then about God's encouragement (Joshua 1:5 & 9, Isaiah 41:10), presence (2 Timothy 4:16-18), and protection (Isaiah 54:17, Psalm 32:7, John 17:11).
God communicated with Paul through six different visions in the book of Acts. We talked to the kids then about how nice it would be if God gave us visions today so that we would know His will, see Him at work in our lives, and hear Him speaking to us. Guess what? He does!
We gave the kids some dot-to-dot puzzles then. Not just any dot-to-dot puzzles though. These were some of the hardest ones out there. They are in a book for ages 8 to adult! They have specific stop and start points you have to be mindful of and one of them even ended at 186! There was no way to tell what the pictures were going to be until they were completed. At first, they just looked like a jumbled mess of numbered dots all over a blank page...no pattern, no symmetry, no rhyme or reason. As the kids worked the puzzles, they soon discovered that those dots had meaning. Their lines to connect them began to take shape and become recognizable pictures to them.
We told the kids that this is how it is as we lives our lives from day to day. God already knows what will happen to us, where we'll go, who we'll speak to, what conflicts will arise, what trials we'll face. He's sovereign. He is everywhere and knows everything. We have no idea though. Sometimes, our lives and the events that take place may make no sense at all to us. We wonder, "Why God? Why is this happening?" We get easily frustrated at how a day may unfold or inconveniences like headaches, missing a bus, rain on field trip day, or getting stuck in traffic when you're already late to soccer practice. But God sees the big picture. He sees how that jumbled mess of dots that represent the events in our day will be connected to get us through to right where He wants us to be at the end of that day. We just have to trust that He knows what the finished picture looks like and is connecting those dots together for His greater purposes and glory.
We read the kids the story Pastor Mike read to us on Sunday then.
Me (in a tizzy) : God, can I ask you something?
GOD: Sure.
Me: Promise you won't get mad?
GOD: I promise.
Me (frustrated): Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
GOD: What do you mean?
Me: Well I woke up late,
GOD: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start,
GOD: Okay....
Me (growling): At lunch, they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait
GOD: Hmmmm..
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call
GOD: All right
Me (loudly): And to top it all off, when I got home, I just wanted to soak my feet in my foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work. Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
GOD: Well let me see..... the death angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me (humbled): Oh...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that might have hit you if you were on the road
Me (ashamed): ............
GOD: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work
Me (embarrassed): Oh.....
GOD: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give a false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered
Me (softly): I see God
GOD: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God.
GOD: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.........in all things, the good and the bad.
I showed the kids a picture my sister embroidered for me as well. First I showed them the underside. If you've ever seen the backside of an embroidery project, you know it just looks like a mess of knotted thread. I asked them what they saw from their perspective, where they were sitting. They described exactly that. Then I showed them what I saw from my perspective...looking down and at the top of the finished project. It's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.
Sometimes, following Jesus is like completing a connect-the-dots puzzle...or looking at the backside of an embroidery project. But trust Jesus...because He's the one guiding your pencil, the one weaving together the threads of your life.
