Is the Thing the Thing?

I saw this photo of an iceberg and it reminded me of the Alaskan Cruise we took. While our ship was docked in Juneau, we took the tour to the Mendenhall Glacier. This amazing glacier is 12 miles long, a half-mile wide and 300 to 1,800 feet deep. An iceberg is what breaks off from a glacier and can be hundreds of feet in depth. From the Titanic catastrophe, we know what an iceberg can cause.

So, “The Thing we see on the surface is NOT the Thing”! Hidden below the surface it is far deeper than it is high. In fact, what is on top is just “the tip of the iceberg”. And to relate that to our lives — we may be going through a major circumstance or challenge that seems to be THE THING. But when we look at it from God’s perspective, it’s not THE THING at all.

There is a Master-minded plan that is far greater than what it looks like on the surface. Could it be that the financial upheaval, is really the opportunity to turn our life around and into THE THING that takes us to ultimate success? Could it be that the tough times in our lives are actually being used by God for the best times He has planned for us? Anything that drives us to our knees before God, making us call upon Him, is a blessing. Trouble is a specialist at doing that.

Remember the 9/11 stories that THINGS kept them from getting to work on time and thereby saved their lives? One fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts. One woman was late because her alarm clock didn’t go off in time. One of them missed his bus. One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change. One’s car wouldn’t start. One went back to answer the telephone. One had a child that dawdled and didn’t get ready as soon as he should have. Then there was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, but before he got to work, developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

The point I’m making is for us today is to realize that when stuff happens in our day, that stuff (THE THING) may not be THE THING. It just may be God’s way of sparing us from certain harm or accident. It may be that THOSE THINGS are THE THINGS God is using to effect His perfect plan for our lives.

The next time we’re stuck in traffic, break a glass and it goes everywhere, get a flat tire, receive a call from yet another telemarketer, or we are on hold in a telephone queue, or wait in a long check-out line — all the little things that annoy or perplex us, let’s pause to remind ourselves that this is exactly where God wants us to be at this very moment. Let’s credit it to our all-knowing, all–seeing God Who is at work in our lives. His THING is THE very best THING for our lives! And, “His ways are so much higher than our ways” (Isaiah 55:8)! Let’s let the Master do HIS THING with the things He uses for all the “things” to work out for our good! (Romans 8:28)

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct Your paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6