THE PUZZLE OF LIFE

TEXT: JOHN 15:4- 7

“4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.⁷ if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Life is a puzzle and putting it together could be challenging. That is why we need the help and assistance of God.

A jigsaw puzzle can be defined as puzzle consisting of small irregularly cut pieces that are to be fitted together to form a picture. (Merriam Webster Dictionary).

I work as a childcare practitioner- a Classroom leader to be precise. My duty is to assist the children in my group to make their day in the playschool meaningful and enjoyable by stimulating learning environment and planning child centred activities- guiding them through the learning period.

One beautiful morning, as I welcomed the children as they were coming in; we planned the day and the children chose what they wanted to do at their work time (this is when each child decides where they want to play in the room). There was a beautiful girl that always starts her day by setting all the jigsaw puzzles in the room before she would move to any other activity in the room.  I sat beside her as she was setting the puzzles- I was motivating her as she succeeds in putting the right piece in the right place. I used words of encouragement like “good girl, well-done, brilliant and so on to motivate her.

At a point she got stuck and she called me for help (that was my reason for sitting beside her). “Teacher, I need help” she stated. I moved close to the board and found out that she was holding a wrong piece of puzzle in her hand and she was forcing it to the wrong place with all rigors! “I said to her “you have the wrong piece in your hand, drop it and let’s look for the right one.” She replied “NO, I want to put this one first.”

I tried my best to explain to her that she has to drop the wrong piece for us to look and place the right piece in the puzzle so that she can continue with the setting- as the wrong piece WILL NOT fit in that place that she’s forcing it to.

However, all my explanation and implorations was to no avail as she refused to let go of the wrong piece she was holding. I have to respect her will and choice; I cannot impose my will on her so I let her be. She continued to struggle with the wrong piece she refused to let go. She continues forcing the wrong piece in the wrong place while I look.

After a while, she became frustrated and got fed up with the struggle; she left the table without being able to set the puzzle to completion. Her strong self-will made her to refuse to let go of the wrong piece even though it debar her from achieving her goal of completing the jigsaw puzzle.

As I watched her struggling with the wrong piece, the Holy Spirit said to me

“This is how you human beings struggle with your maker in the issues of your life. You hold on to the wrong thing in life and you will start calling on God for help and assistance. When God tells you to drop your will for His will, you will start arguing and look for a way to manipulate God to work with your will and choice. Being who God is – Polite and gentile, He will respect your will without forcing His will on you, and He will let you make your choice. When your choice or what you decided is not working as you expected; you will become angry and frustrated thinking God has failed you.”

For days, I reflected on the illustration of the Holy Spirit and the scenario that happened at work. Permit me to ask you readers “do you see yourself in this illustration? Are you in anyway struggling with the will of God for your life? Are you holding on to the wrong piece of life’s endeavour or task to complete the puzzle of your life? Trust me, it will not work. You have to drop any wrong thing that you are holding on to, the Lord is set to give you the right piece that will compliment and complete your life. Without the right piece of puzzle that the Lord wants to add to your life, your life cannot be complete. It may be in the area of business, career, and life partner and so on. Take an inventory of your life and see where you are struggling with the will of God. The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 1:5 that God knew you before He made you, He is the only one that has the right piece of puzzle that will make  the picture of your life to be complete- Not your pastor, parents, or your career guidance counsellor!

He will not force His will on you, therefore, you have to be willingly let go of your will for His will.

Like I couldn’t help the girl in the story as much as I made myself available to help her, in the same way; God will not be able to render any help if you are not willing to let go of your wrong choice.

For you not to be frustrated, drop that wrong piece and allow God to give you the right piece. that will bring about the perfect picture for your life.

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