Have you ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? There is a method to the madness of it. First, you have to get all the puzzle pieces face up, so you can see what is on them. Second, you sort them by similar color and then you can begin. As you begin fitting one piece to another, you start working in chunks. It is also important to create the framework as quickly as possible to direct what the puzzle is going to look like.
My family loves puzzles. My dad used to work 1000+ piece puzzles on the dining room table for days. My niece was probably the next one to catch on to the hobby and my daughter quickly followed her. Me, I hate puzzles. I get way too frustrated with them. I want the end result quickly and that isn’t the purpose of putting together puzzles. The journey is the purpose.
Life is similar in that there is purpose in the journey. It is also similar to a puzzle because we get pieces at a time. We don’t have the big picture, so we have to try and put the pieces we have together. We have no way of knowing what the final picture is going to look like. It’s like we are missing the box top.
God has the box top. He knows exactly what the end result is going to look like. He gives us one or two pieces at a time because He knows if He gave us all the pieces at once, we would be overwhelmed and couldn’t handle it [Luke 11:3]. If we want to know where to place them, we should simply ask Him. He will direct us in the path that leads to delight [Psalm 119:35]. He knows how to get there. As my friend, Barbara, says, when we devote ourselves to seeking God daily, we are given a glimpse of the box top [1 Chronicles 22:19]. Psalm 119:33 says, “Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me.” We see here the Word of God is a good place to get clues about putting the pieces of our puzzle called life together. He will guide us. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
If you want to know how to put your puzzle together, spend time with the One who is holding the box top. He will guide and direct you and keep you from trying to force pieces together that don’t fit. When your puzzle is finished, it will be a beautiful creation.