Putting Together the Divine Puzzle
written by: Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
I’ve never liked doing puzzles because I am impatient. Sadly, I have had to work to be less impatient in order to make room for God. God has made my world complicated and I am guessing God has done the same to you. If you look at all the pieces laid out on the floor, some are upside-down; all of them twisted in awkward ways. My impatience would lead me to come up with a million reasons why I should just give up and work on something else. Yet, in doing so, I would miss out on what could be a beautiful picture, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with fulfilling something challenging.
Having a relationship with God is also like a puzzle, because God is complicated as well. God often does not respond in easy or clearly defined ways. I believe God wants us to work at it. There is something profound and meaningful in the process of putting the pieces together. There can be a plan. Start with the corner pieces. But it is still a long process of trial, error, surprise, and little successes. The excitement grows as the picture comes alive. The more one sees of the little glimpses of the picture, the more enthusiastic one gets. Each new attached piece brings the picture to life.
The same is true for the puzzle of faith in God. We think we know what the image will look like, but the process of putting a faith together brings deeper meaning to the image. What we need to see is the puzzle within a puzzle. Why did God give us all the pieces of the Divine puzzle to begin with? We didn’t earn the puzzle pieces. We do not deserve the gift of the puzzle. No matter how fast we put the puzzle together, we will never fully appreciate its depth of wisdom. Yet, the puzzle is still worth the effort, will never be boring, and will speak to us in new ways every time we work on it.
Today, bring your best self to the puzzle of faith. This puzzle isn’t made of cardboard. This puzzle is put together through prayer, worship, mission, and compassion. It sounds simple, but the minute the Holy Spirit gets involved, God complicates our life. God brings pandemics, financial stress, heartaches, love, grace, and joy to the puzzle. Unlike a cardboard puzzle, the Divine puzzle brings eternal surprises that keeps our lives exciting. But remember, God will keep it worth the effort. Don’t let impatience keep you from experiencing the fulness of God’s complicated, wonderful eternal puzzle.
