Something happens, and it seems
so random. Try as we might, we can’t connect to any good result.
And yet,
God’s purposes which are at first veiled often yield an amazing effect.
A verse I
had perhaps skimmed over in the past came into sharp relief for me this week.
In Galatians
4:13, we find these words, “As you know, it was because of an illness that I
first preached the gospel to you.”
No one knows
what illness the writer, the apostle Paul, might have referred to or whether it
was his “thorn in the flesh” he referenced in other places. As one Bible
scholar offered, we don’t know if he came to Galatia to heal from an illness he
already had or whether in his travels, he intended to just pass through, but
was instead stricken with an infirmity that caused him to stay. In any event,
Paul tells us it was the illness itself that brought him there and supplied him
the opportunity to proclaim the good news of Jesus to the Galatians. And then
because of his relationship with them, he continued to correspond with them to encourage
and admonish.
We can draw
a line from Paul’s illness to the writing of the letter to the Galatians
included in our Bibles today. Who could have seen that coming?
I’d say
that was quite an enduring outcome from an unexpected happening.
This verse also
illustrates how God can use us in our own perceived weakness. In writing to the
Corinthians, Paul said, “I came to you in weakness with great fear and
trembling.” He also shares these words the Lord spoke to him, “My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). We
cannot measure our strength by our feelings, but we allow our feelings of weakness
to cause us to lean on the Lord. “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” he
says. (Corinthians 12:10).
When I had
breast cancer twenty-two years ago, the Lord prepared me for a difficult road ahead
through many dreams I had. I wondered if God had done all of this why hadn’t he
just healed me. After my diagnosis, a dear friend sent me these verses in
Romans 5, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope
does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” I lived on these
verses trusting that God was using what I was going through in unexpected ways. There was much that came out of that time, but one of those
things was God launched me into my next chapter, which was writing.
So, if you’re
facing your own version of an unexpected problem, take comfort in God’s ability
to use it in ways you may not even be able to imagine.
Beverly Varnado is the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. A memoir, Faith in the Fashion District, from Crosslink Publishing is also available as well as her other books, Give My Love to the Chestnut Trees and Home to Currahee. She also has an Etsy Shop, Beverly Varnado Art.
To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.com
Beverly Varnado copyright 2022