Does your church have stained glass windows? My current church home does not; however, the church I grew up in had stained glass windows behind the altar. They were beautiful pictures of Jesus at His birth and then as a man. I remember spending many Sundays lost in the beauty of the stained glass window instead of the message being shared. Sitting out in the congregation I could notice the many beautiful colors used to create the picture and see how a single picture could tell more than one story depending on how the light hit it.
Did you know that stained glass windows are made up of broken pieces of glass? The artist takes several shards of glass and arranges them in such a way to create something beautiful to the eye. If you get close enough to put your nose to the window, you’ll see the broken pieces of glass that are put together, but when you pull away from it, all you see is a beautiful picture.
When trials and troubles come into our lives, difficult circumstances that seem harsh and hurtful, we question if God is there. Is He aware of what’s going on in our lives? Does He even care? Friends, God works everything together for good [Romans 8:28]. He told us we will experience trials [1 Peter 1:6-7]. He also promised nothing will come our way He won’t help us with [1 Corinthians 10:13]. He will never leave us nor forsake us [Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 and Joshua 1:5].
James 1:2-4 says “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The Lord uses the difficult times, the broken pieces if you will, to create something stunning “that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Trust the Artist who is creating a masterpiece out of your life. Whatever you’re going through, good, bad or otherwise…is not an accident. It has purpose and it will yield glory to the One who is worthy, if you’ll allow it. The choice is yours.