Building a Palace
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:26-28
We all know what it feels like to hope for something so badly, only to be disappointed when it doesn’t work out. You really want to make the varsity team, or to get into the school you’ve dreamed of going to forever, or to land the job that seems so perfect.
You want something so bad it hurts, and you focus all your energy on it. Many of us build up these plans for our lives in our heads, and at times they can seem like the only way.
But that’s just the thing. These are the plans that we want. Sometimes we think we know exactly what is best for us, but we see the world from our own limited perspective. We serve a God who knows the whole universe, from the biggest oceans to the smallest grain of sand, and from your heart to mine. We all know this to be true, but why do we still insist on our own way?
Many of you have probably heard this analogy from C.S. Lewis. He says,
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
When God works in our lives, it doesn’t always turn out exactly how we think it should. But as followers of Christ, we can leave it all up to the One who knows our hearts, trusting that the plan He has set out for us is perfect.
When we put aside our worries and stop focusing on our own selfish desires, we can wait patiently for what He wants for our lives. Turns out, it might be better than we ever could have imagined.