A favorite hobby of mine is putting jigsaw puzzles together. Ever since I was little, I found it satisfying seeing all of the individual pieces fit together to create an amazing piece of art. However, with each puzzle, I can easily get overwhelmed when I pour the box out on the table and there are thousands of pieces that are all different shapes and colors that look nothing like the end picture.
Rather than getting overwhelmed with how many pieces there are, I try to focus on one piece at a time. First, I turn over each piece, sort out the edges, and start to create the frame. Once I have the frame complete the next step is to sort the different color shades and complete the easiest sections of the picture. By looking at the bigger picture, I begin to recognize certain patterns and color schemes that help me progress. The key is remaining patient.
I also get overwhelmed if I focus too far in the future trying to plan out how each season of my life will fit together. But it isn’t my job to know the future, it’s my job to focus on one day at a time and trust that God will work each season together for good. Even though I won’t always understand why certain parts of my life look the way they do, I can trust that God will be faithful to finish the picture.
Jesus said on the famous sermon on the mount, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-27, 31-34)
Jesus gives us this teaching because He knows our tendency to worry about the future and things we can’t control. Often times we make ourselves sick by worrying about the what-ifs of the future so much so that we can’t enjoy the present moment. So rather than worrying, Jesus tells us to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first. By doing this and submitting our life to His will, little by little God’s bigger plan will unfold.
The Bigger Picture: Just because you can’t see it now, be patient because every season is a piece of a larger picture God is putting together.
The Bigger Picture 