I just got home from Bible study and I have been commissioned a post. Let me explain. We were talking about the Shield of Faith and of course, we ended up on the topic of our failures, those moments when you step out on faith and everything falls apart.
We all have a few of them and they are all different. One of mine was right after high school. I was working overseas at a boarding school for troubled teens. I was 18 and thought I was going to change the world in one year. I was paired with a girl who, six months later, decided to quite school so she could smoke weed and drink. That was her greatest ambition. The next girl I was paired with cussed me out on a regular basis, something I was not used to at all! I felt like a failure. That's putting it lightly. I felt completely broken. It was at that moment that one of the least encouraging people on staff said something to me. He said, "Dana, God makes no mistakes and He doesn't waste anything."
That one phrase stopped me in my tracks. It is one I have carried with me ever since. As I have marinated in that truth the last several years, the meaning has become richer and deeper.
Just think - God makes NO mistakes. That means that it wasn't a mistake for me to go overseas even though nothing turned out as I planned. That means He did not a mistake to take that job. God didn't make any mistakes with how He made me, when I was born, who is in my family or how I was raised. God DOES NOT make mistakes.
But it doesn't stop there. God also doesn't WASTE anything. That means, He uses all the pieces, even the broken ones. It means that He uses all my effort, even my mistakes. He is the ultimate economist. He doesn't waste moments, people, resources or talent. He uses all these things and more to accomplish His plan in each of our lives. What a comfort to know that I can't mess it up! That my blunders and rebellion and sin can be redeemed and used by our Lord. I waste things. I make mistakes. God never does! I hope this encourages you today. God bless!
