A Puzzling Picture

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:12

DO YOU EVER WONDER why certain things happen? Maybe your friend’s mom has cancer. Or you got an F on the test you studied so hard for. Or your best friend suddenly won’t speak to you. Or you fall and break your leg and now you’re out of sports for the season.

Life is full of twists and turns. We often think things are going along just fine when—wham-o—everything goes wrong. Bad stuff happens. Things we thought we could count on just turn upside down. Life zigs when we expect it to zag. Why is that?

The Bible has a great way of looking at it in this verse: “like puzzling reflections in a mirror.” We think we know what to expect when we look in a mirror, but what happens when the mirror is warped or foggy? We don’t recognize what we see, and we feel confused.

It’s okay to feel confused. It’s part of life. We don’t have to panic, even though we may be pretty upset. But we can remember that while we don’t see the clear picture of why something is happening, God does. He’s working for our good. So the short-term things that are upsetting and confusing may not be fun to go through, but we can put our trust in God anyway. He won’t let us down.

DO

Solve this puzzle.

Three doctors say Emma is their sister. But Emma says she has no sisters. How can this be?

Could you solve this puzzle without looking at the answer? When did the answer become clear? How is that like what happens when we see something clearly that was puzzling before?

PRAY

Dear God,

Thank you for seeing the clear picture in front of me, even when I can’t. Please help me remember that it’s okay to feel sad or confused when I don’t understand why something happens. Remind me to trust that you see the whole picture. Amen.

READ

Psalm 119:169; 1 Timothy 2:7

Answer: The doctors were Emma’s brothers, not her sisters.