"God of the Mess"

“God of the Mess”

In my hospital rounds not long ago I visited a patient with multiple health problems. As she shared her feelings with me she began to shed some tears but then smiled and said something like “I’m a mess but God’s with me”. She blessed me much more than I did her by her faith in the midst of her pain.

A couple in our Sunday School class went on a European river cruise last year and during one of the land tours the wife tripped and fell. She protected herself from a possible head injury by putting her hands out but in so doing broke a finger. Was God in this mess? He certainly was because she received treatment at a nearby hospital and a retired physician in the group kept an eye on her so she and her husband could complete the trip. The fracture eventually required two surgeries but, as she put it. “God was in the mess!”

We think of a mess as a disorderly, unexpected or out-of-the-ordinary situation or a confusing state of affairs. We’ve all been in them—some of our own making and others due to circumstances beyond our control. But if we believe the promise that “…(God) will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 quoted in Hebrews 13:5) we can be sure He’s with us in whatever mess we might find ourselves. Think of Joseph for a moment. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, imprisoned on trumped-up charges brought by a woman whose advances he resisted and was separated from his family and faith resources for many years. But God had a plan. He delivered His servant, placed him in a high position and used him to save his family. His testimony to his brothers tells it all: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20). God was truly the God of his mess! The same can be said of His prophets, Jesus’ disciples and countless others. In the words of Andrae Crouch’s great song “Through It All”: “For if I’d never had a problem I wouldn’t know that God could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.”

What’s your mess today? Remember God’s the God of it and He’ll see you through as He has me—many times.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan