"Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do. " — Corrie ten Boom (The Hiding Place)
I really love Corrie ten Boom! I'm so glad I'll get to meet her in heaven someday, and I'm so excited for that moment! Her life and legacy really inspire me to keep on praying and witnessing to my friends and family who still need to know Jesus. And to persevere through whatever hard times will be ahead, no matter what.
This quote is so interesting, too...
There have been so many times in my life when something happened that just didn't make sense. God took me out of a job I loved, or He took away a loved one, or He took away a relationship, and I found myself asking, "Why, Lord? What was that all about? What was the point of that, anyway?" I know we've all found ourselves in similar situations. Many of the events of this life just don't make sense to us in the moment. The way the world operates as a whole actually makes little sense to me. Why is there so much injustice? Why is there so much sufferering and poverty? If God is holy and loving, why does He not eliminate these things?
Yet God has a bigger plan... If a timeline were drawn out showing the beginning of creation, up until the very last day... God would be over it all ... and is over all. He sees the beginning, middle, and end, all at once... and more and more I am seeing that the strange and even seemingly unfair events that occur in our lives really are the preparation for the work He has for us in the future. That's precisely why they don't make sense now. They are like puzzle pieces, and it's not until our lives are complete (i.e., the puzzle is finished) that it all comes together and makes sense.
It really comforts me to know, though, that even though God is above all and knows His perfect plan, He still draws near to us in our sorrows, in our confusion, and in the midst of our desparate "Why's". It comforts me to know that when Lazarus died, Jesus wept -- even though He knew that He was about to raise his friend from the dead. He mourned with his friends. As a man Himself, he could sit in that pain and sorrow and just let it sink in for awhile.
Another verse that's coming to mind is one of the Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4) and this one: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4).
I know that even though God is holy and high above us, and His thoughts are higher than ours, and His plan is greater... He still mourns with us and is grieved when we are confused, hurt, disappointed, or disillusioned with the events of this life, and the fact that sometimes the things that happen appear to make no sense whatsoever. Why else would David say, "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." (Psalm 56:8)
Perhaps at the end of your life, all the puzzle pieces will have come together, yet still not everything will make sense. Then, I suppose that in eternity with God, your questions will finally all be answered.
Or perhaps, in the light of His glory and the splendor of everything He has prepared for us, in the presence of Jesus the Lamb, and all our friends and family who have gone before us..... Perhaps then, the questions and confusion of this life will no longer matter....
Perhaps it will be a faint memory, in light of the joy set before us.... the unending joy of dwelling forever in the presence of a Holy and Righteous God, where there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more death....
Just endless joy and peace and mercy and love.
That makes me want to say... "Come, Lord Jesus!"
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