Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Finding the Answer to Life’s Puzzles”
"...let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance – for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise." – Proverbs 1:5, 6 (New International Version)

I have always been one to love puzzles. As a child and teen I loved the challenge of putting together the largest most complicated puzzles I could find. One year as a Christmas present I was given a 3D puzzle of the Notre Dame Cathedral. It took me almost two months to put together but I stuck with it until it was complete.
Some of you might remember that in the 1960's and 70's there was a television game show called Concentration. The game consisted of a board with approximately twenty-four numbered squares. Behind each square were pictures of an item, and each item on the board had a match. If the participant found the matches they would win that particular prize. After the items were matched, the backs of the squares were turned to reveal a message to a puzzle. To win the game, the participant had to solve that puzzle. It was an incredibly challenging game but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Jesus often spoke to people using parables. “Spiritual puzzles” you might say. He took the ordinary everyday things of life and placed them in situations in order that the people might see the real truths of God’s love and purpose behind them!
Just like in Concentration, there is always more to our lives than what meets the eye. Situations that often seem so difficult to comprehend and handle, yet when we come to understand what God has to say to us through these life puzzles, we begin to see the "Big Picture" of how He truly has all the answers to what troubles us!
How adequate are you at solving the difficulties you are faced with? Do you wait for others to give you the answers or solutions? How do you know whom to trust with your problems? And even then can you say without hesitation that they have your best interests in mind?
I guess the question to ask here is this: “what do you do when you don’t know what to do?” In the midst of trouble, where do we turn? To whom or to what do we place our utmost trust upon? In his great devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers writes, “There are times in our spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not to say that we should not be confused. It is not a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through this spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God truly wants for you.”
Sound confusing? Imagine Abram’s confusion when God tells him to go to a place that He (God) would tell him. He had no idea really where he was going but in the end God provided the land. Noah’s journey was the same, asked to build something he had never seen and take on a task that was beyond him, yet God led him through step by step. Our Country, State and Church are a vital part of our lives, and the process by which God leads is not always a simple one to understand. But we must let Him lead us through the confusion before we can see His hand “in the fog.” Is He truly in charge of your fear and anxiety?
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and over burdened, and I will cause you to rest – I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls." (The New Amplified Version)
It is important not to take friends and family out of the equation when you need guidance, and yet, God's Word and wisdom should always be our first source. Let him assist you in completing life’s puzzles.
Pastor J. T. Carnell.