Perspective

PERSPECTIVE

…3And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;5and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:4)

           

Maria Aristidou was working on a watercolor one day, when she spilled her coffee onto the canvas. A terrible accident and a waste of time and product, you might think. But as Maria stared at the soiled picture, an idea began to germinate in her mind.

Maria began using coffee to create beautiful paintings. Her work is now entirely made from coffee and coffee grounds and has become famous in the art world. A spill turns into a piece of art. [i]

Isn’t that what God has been doing since the dawn of time? He takes hopeless situations and transforms them into something much more beautiful than we could have imagined when the ‘spill’ first occurred.

God is not a God who delights in pain or suffering. They are purely the work of the evil one, who seeks to tear us down and whispers in our ear “God doesn’t really care, does he?” Such lies! Such false words, crafted by the master deceiver.

No, God does not delight in pain or suffering. But He does use our hard times to create a pearl of great value. God uses those trials, first of all to His glory, and secondly to spur growth in our lives (Romans 5:4).

Most precious gems are found in the earth. But pearls are the only gem created by a living creature. The oyster takes that irritant in his shell and turns it into a beautiful, precious gem.

What are you doing with your struggles? Are you “enduring” them? Or are you handing them over to God, asking Him to be glorified in what you are suffering through? Are you praying that these hard times will be turned into something beautiful? God has in the past, with people like Joseph and David.

If you turn your pain over to God, He can and will do the same in your own life. You might not see it here, on earth, but you will see it some day when you receive the crown of life.

Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life

If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And hope for life's best were the hopes
That I harbor down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of life
And laid it at the cross

(Bill Gaither)

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[i] http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/30/427540161/coffee-art-when-a-spill-turns-into-a-masterpiece

About the author:

I am the daughter of TEAM missionaries (The Evangelical Alliance Mission). I was raised in France, attended French schools, obtained my French Baccalaureate then attended Emmaus Bible College in Switzerland where I graduated with a degree in Bible and Theology.

I now live in the Missouri Ozarks with my husband Len and my three sons, one of whom has been diagnosed with Asperger’s.

I am a member of the Ozarks’ Chapter of American Christian Writers and a founding member of the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.