I heard of a situation where a toddler found a pack of permanent markers and proceeded to scribble all over her bedroom wall. As her parents discussed what to do about the mess, Dad said he would have to repaint the entire room. Mom had some artistic skills and chose to use the mess as the basis for a mural she painted on the wall. It turned out great. You could still see the colorful scribbles, but they were incorporated into the mural in such a way as to be beautiful.
This was done with a firm understanding for the child that she was never to draw on the walls again. However, what began as a total disaster, ended in a new creation.
This is God’s specialty. He is great at taking the messes of our lives and bringing about something amazing. This is most clearly seen in his power to transform our sinful lives into new creations that allow us to start over with a clean slate as one pure and holy in God’s eyes. He continues that loving process when, as Christ followers, we stumble and fall into sin. Through the Apostle John, he writes to believers in 1 John 1:8-10, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
He is not excusing our sin or telling us it is okay. But he is taking our failure and giving us the opportunity to confess it to him. When we do, he cleanses it away.
This power of God is not only evident in dealing with sin but is available in all areas of life. There are times the mess we find ourselves in is not our fault, we are simply the victim of circumstance or the evil intent of others to hurt us. When we find ourselves in these situations, we can choose to whine and blame God for our pain, or we can trust him to turn our trouble into something good.
God does not cause evil. He is not thinking up ways to attack us and then swoop in like a superhero to our rescue. Satan is always the source of the pain in our lives. However, God can take that pain and bring about something that works for our good. We will not always see the positive immediately, but that is where faith comes in. He knows what is best and when it is best.
In Genesis, Joseph was the victim of jealous brothers who intended to kill him because he was his father’s favorite. Instead, they sold him into slavery, and he was taken off to Egypt as a young teen. Due to the sinful actions of a woman, Joseph went from being a trusted slave in the home of an important Egyptian official, to the depths of a dank prison cell. But even there, his trust in his God made him stand out and he was given favor. A promise to seek his release was forgotten and Joseph spent years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
However, God had not forgotten him. His Lord empowered him to interpret dreams that eventually won his freedom. Because God had warned Joseph of the coming famine, he was able to prepare. This led his family to travel to Egypt where there was food, and their lives were saved.
When his brothers learned it was Joseph in charge, they feared for their lives because of their treachery many years before. But Joseph reminded them of this truth in Genesis 50:20,
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Two factors need to come together for God to turn our messes into beauty. First, is God’s power which he has offered freely. The other is our wiliness to trust him, even when we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.