Master Puzzler

Yesterday, major walls came crashing down in people's live that I truly love. I got to thinking about the walls that came down as Joshua marched into Jericho. That was a good thing - ordained by God. "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! (Josh. 6:16 NIV)

"When the people heard the sound of the horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the city from every side and captured it." (Josh. 6:20)

But what about the people in it? There was one woman, Rahab, that God chose to keep safe because of her help to the Israelites when the spies were scoping out the city. Ultimately, her life majorly improved when she was made to leave the fortified city. Her and her family were spared death.

I wonder why she didn't leave the city earlier if she didn't agree with what was happening there? Have you ever thought of that?

Have you ever noticed in your life that things have to get really bad before you're ready to move on to something else? And usually, when you do finally part with whatever it was you were holding onto (whether a job or whatever...) then you really start to see God's hand.

So what I'm wondering is, maybe the walls had to come down yesterday. Maybe, perhaps, God is shaking up things to get them to fall into place. Whoever was trying to put together the puzzle (oh man - probably us) was trying to force them into a space when it clearly would NOT fit. God is the ultimate Puzzler. He fits pieces together that no one else would even think of and when He is finished - we stand back and admire His handiwork. We marvel at His ingenuity.

But at the time, when He is doing the shaking up, we don't wonder what good things He is doing for us. We puzzle over what is going on. We cry out to Him or we dig in our heels and fight Him every inch of the way.

God gave Rahab a place of refuge during this tearing down and rebuilding process. He took care of her, very good care of her. Much better care than what she had inside the city walls.

When the walls of Jerusalem were finally finished, lots of celebrating went on. "At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. (Neh. 12:27)

But right now, it's hard to think about the rebuilding. The walls are still crumbling. Refuge has been taken but still, God hasn't shown His hand yet. But we know He will. His timing is most definitely NOT our timing. Of course His ways are definitely NOT our ways - and I am so thankful of that considering how many times I have majorly botched things up in my life.

If your life is going good right now, please pray for those who are in the process of watching their walls come down. You've been there. You know it's not easy. But you also know that the rewards will be great when it's all said and done.

"SHOUT! For the Lord has given you the city!" I can't wait until we hear these words in these situations that I see in my family and friend's lives. I can't wait for the dedication to those new walls. I can't wait to See how God works out these many different situations.

Shhh! The Master Puzzler is at work right now.