God Conducts His Masterpiece

It is amazing to look back on our lives and see how God has orchestrated various events in our lives, and it can be helpful to reflect on those times in which we have seen Him operate in profound ways. It may not have even occurred to us that He was at work, but in retrospect, we can see how He was working, and that can help us to trust Him for our future. Here are some words from Psalm 37:
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

Yes, it may take a little hindsight in order to give us understanding of the hand of God in our lives. And, even in the present, we can trust that He is working, even though it may not be recognizable.  If we are trusting in Him, we can be assured that He is operating, bringing His plan into reality in our lives.  He is arranging occurrences for His glory.   He has appointments for you - assignments for you to do and activities through which you can learn.   We can be convinced of His loving watchcare over our lives.

+++++

We can trust the Lord, even in the middle of our adversity - He is working His will and producing fruit in and through us, drawing us closer to Himself. Here are some words from 1st Peter 1:
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

We are called to walk expectantly with our Savior, knowing He is teaching us, doing an internal work and producing external fruit as we abide in Him.  There will be trials that come, and we can know that in those difficult times, sometimes even as the result of bad decisions that we have made, that our Savior walks with us and that He is working His plan, orchestrating His will as a master conductor, who is expressing a beautiful work in and through us.
 

+++++

In Isaiah 55, we read about how God is at work, even when we don't understand it.
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Brady Toops is a 33-year-old Christian singer-songwriter, who will be seen on some upcoming dates with the David Crowder Band.  He is also a former draft pick for the St. Louis Cardinals.   And, a short-term suitor on the TV series, The Bachelorette.  

Breathecast.com has the rather unique story of Brady's short time on the reality show.   Seems that Brady was one of the male contestants, and the group of men were asked to vote on one of two young ladies whom they would want to have continue on the show.  The voting results showed the majority of men would be in favor of Kaitlyn Bristowe, so the other young lady, Britt Nilsson, was sent home.

Brady was not happy with the outcome of the voting, because it seems he had developed a fondness for Britt.  In fact, in the opening episode, the two of them are seen having a conversation about how they both sponsor a child overseas. The report states:

"My faith is the number one thing to me," Toops says. An excited Nilsson replies, "Me too! The only thing! The number one thing!" Toops adds, "That's all my songs are really about. My faith. My spirituality."

So, after Britt was sent home, the show depicted Brady telling Kaitlyn, "My heart belongs to the lady that just left us," and he exited in a limousine to go "find" Nilsson.  He did, and Breathecast.com reports that the two are still apparently dating. It says that, "Although not often highlighted on the show, Nilsson's social media accounts indicate that she is a practicing Christian. She often shares verses and gives thanks via her Instagram account.

Now, I am not a fan of either of the Bachelor programs - the premise is a bit of a stretch for me, and what I do know about the program indicates that the producers are setting up tantalizing scenarios that might appeal to the audience's baser instincts.  Even, this season, there are tabloid rumors swirling around Kaitlyn that the network may in fact be milking for more ratings - such is the nature of reality television, and it's not necessarily a pretty world.

But, emerging from it all, you have two individuals that are devoted to Christ who apparently found commonality centered around their faith.  It's certainly not the path I would choose.  But, I think the main takeaway from this story is that I think that most of us have situations in our lives that defy logic - sometimes the ways of God may defy our logic, but keep in mind that His ways are higher than our own.  

Now, someone might take Brady and Britt to task for even consenting to go on the show.  Let's go with that - you might consider that decision ill-informed.  I think we can be reminded that God can take even errant decisions, turn them around, and use them for a greater purpose.   He can send a message even out of our messes.  And, suppose each of them felt "led" to do the show, for some reason - maybe even to be a light in a dark place.  You can't judge their hearts, but you can judge the fruit, and maybe even God has granted to these two individuals an opportunity to speak and live truth and to enter into a God-honoring relationship.  God can give us a platform consistent with His purpose.

Finally, we can acknowledge that He is working in our lives.   When we miss it, He will direct us by His Spirit to get back on course and perhaps even use those times to teach us.  When we get it and walk in obedience, we demonstrate our growth in Him.   We can trust Him, knowing that He is teaching us more about His nature and confirming His Word.