Have you ever tried to put together a puzzle without the puzzle box with the picture on it? Maybe someone put the puzzle in a Ziploc bag because the box it was in was too damaged. But in doing that they forgot to cut the picture of the puzzle off of the box and put it in the bag with the pieces. So now you have a bag full of pieces and no picture.
This is also true about life.
Sometimes the things happening in your life right now make absolutely no sense at all and that can lead to great frustration in your life. You hear it said that God has plan and that this season that you are going through is a piece in the overall picture of your life that God has for you. But how many of you agree that it would be a lot more fun if God would give more than just one little piece (or sometimes multiple pieces) at a time. You may have a couple of end pieces, a couple of pieces that go somewhere in the middle and you have this random piece of a solid color that could go anywhere in the picture. It would be fun if you knew what the little piece or pieces of your story that you are currently holding means and how it fits in to the puzzle called life and the plan that God has for you. It would be fun if you could just see the front of the puzzle box for just a second.
I am reminded of Joseph as I think about this. Talk about a guy you had an up and down kind of life and getting pieces of the puzzle here and there. One moment he is enjoying life with his family and the next he’s thrown in a hole by his brothers. “Where does this piece fit God?” Joseph might have asked. But then his brothers change their mind and they get him out of the hole and sell him instead. Then he is finally getting things turned around in Egypt and he gets thrown in jail after Potiphar’s wife accused him of rape. “Where does this piece fit God?”
He then makes some friends while he is in jail and becomes the leader of jail. He turning things around there as well. But then he gets forgotten about and was left in jail for 2 years before he was remembered. “Where does this piece fit God?”
He was finally remembered when Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. They sent for Joseph and he interprets the dream for Pharaoh and is placed second in command under Pharaoh. He was able to Pharaoh’s dream that spoke of a coming famine and he was able to get Egypt to a good place and the nation of Egypt to be able to help the surrounding areas - including Joseph’s family.
Joseph saw in that moment all of the pieces that he had been holding wondering where they fit came into a clear picture. All of the events that he had been through all lined up and made one portion of the bigger picture of his life. This is why Joseph was able to tell his brothers:
“But Joseph said to them, “‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’” - Genesis 50:19-20 NIV
God has a purpose for every piece of our puzzle – after all He can see the puzzle box. All of the pieces will one day make a full picture that we can enjoy. But for now we need to look at the pieces that we have and how they fit together so we can enjoy those moments with God.
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