Photo by Alfred Leung on Unsplash
As I reflect on my faith journey, I see a beautiful mosaic. The beauty of the Artist's design is evident. Yet, if I zoom in and investigate piece by piece, I tend to notice my mess, my screwups, and my ugly failures.
"I never imagined my life would turn out like this." Depending on your perspective this could be a statement of excitement and joy or pain and loss. Life is unpredictable. Life is full of choices. Life is dynamic.
Life is a dance between two lovers. We don't live according to a static plan but an ever-evolving and creative partnership.
My faith journey is like a beautiful mosaic where the Artist's design is evident
Why life is scary
What guarantee do we actually have? Basically, none. We hope. We trust. We live in the tension of possiblities—the in-between. We face the present and glance at the future. We tend to freak out, stress out, and sometimes even give up.
Truth is, God is creating mosaics. We don't always see this big picture. We just need to trust the Artist. We relinquish control and simply BE His craftsmanship, His poiema.
For we are his workmanship [Grk– poiema], created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)
We hope. We trust. We live in the tension of possiblities—the in-between
The freedom of a mosaic
I'm encouraged when I study the apostle Paul's life. He didn't speak about freedom, he demonstrated it.
As Paul wraps up his first letter to the Corinthian church, he shares his plan to visit them during his travels through Macedonia (1 Cor 16:5-9). I love how the ESV translates Paul's words. He uses terms such as—I will... I intend... perhaps....
This is freedom. Paul follows the leadership of the Holy Spirit not by physical or logical sight but by faith with spiritual discernment. He feels no pressure to perform for God or for people.
Paul's life is a mosaic of personal freedom under the lordship of Christ!
Embracing the journey
Following God's Spirit is only possible when we embrace the journey of God's creative plan. The beginning of 2nd Corinthians reveals this (2 Cor 1:15-24). Paul's plan wasn't static but dynamic.
Sometimes the leading of the Holy Spirit changes direction—our direction. That is okay. It's normal when walking by faith.
Afraid of wandering
We are afraid of wandering. Why? Because it seems pointless. A sense of wandering makes us feel unsuccessful or not good enough. This kind of thinking stems from our lack of trust in Jesus.
His way isn't pointless even when it appears like we're walking in circles.
For those of us with a western worldview, we expect to see the Holy Spirit lead in a linear way. We desire an outline of our life as if it's all planned out.
If we aren't on the paved, tidy, no-mistake, straight and narrow, we tend to think we are wanderers with no destination.
God's way isn't pointless even when it appears like we're walking in circles
Seek life rather than direction
Many times we seek direction for our life when we should seek Life itself—Jesus (John 14:6). The Artist is busy crafting His mosaic—our life. He knows the final outcome.
He takes our offering and arranges it. Even when we bring the ugly pieces of our fear, our brokenness, our disobedience. We can trust God to work all things according to our true good in every area of our life.
The Artist is busy crafting His mosaic—our life—He knows the final outcome
The divine dance
If the Spirit wants to pause and sit with us then so be it. Let's enjoy His presence over any destination.
If you can't imagine what your life will be next year that's okay. The present is where you are at and the future is what you get to create in relationship with God.
Life is a divine dance, so dance with the Lover of the universe. Let Him lead.
Step back and admire God's mosaic and submit to the Craftsman's creative work in your life. What is your role? Simply trust and submit to His leading.
Admire God's mosaic and submit to the Craftsman's creative work in your life
This is a guest post by my friend Sergei Kutrovski. You can find more about him here—My Trending Stories/Sergei Kutrovski