So many of my close friends are unemployed or coping with awful diseases…and really struggling. Are you in the same boat?
Wouldn’t you love to wave a magic wand and make the struggles disappear? Not so fast. God has something better in mind.
Have you ever watched a kid bumper bowl? Unable to manage the weighty ball, the child drops it with a thud onto the lane. Eyes glued to his ball, he hops nervously up and down in an attempt to will the ball toward the pins.
That ball wobbles down the lane slower than grass growing. You hold your breath – praying the ball veers to one side. At this point, contact with the bumper is the only thing able to prevent the ball from stalling out in the middle of the lane.
A minor collision between ball and bumper provides enough momentum to propel the black orb to finally land a sweet kiss on one pin. Pins topple as cheers erupt from the child and sighs of relief are exhaled by on-lookers.
How much of this bowling triumph was due to the strength and accuracy of the tiny bowler? What role did the bumper play?
In the bowling game of life we are unskilled children and the boundaries of our struggles are God-ordained bumpers. His Word teaches us why he surrounds us with limitations,
“From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth.
He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries.”~ Acts 17:26
The nitty-gritty details of your life that make it your life are not stumbling blocks preventing you from knowing God. Quite the opposite. God displays his hand of sovereignty over the “bumpers” of your life with this profoundly tender picture,
“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him – though He is not far from any one of us.”
~ Acts 17:27
He placed you in a setting with a cast of characters specifically designed to move you in his direction. He padded your gutters!
The stuff you’re bumping into, and off of, is not put in your path to aggravate you. God lovingly placed it there to redirect you toward Him and to keep you out of the gutter.
When you collide with daily struggles, don’t allow yourself to linger in frustration. Search for how God wants to use them.
What are you bumping into this week?
Will you ask God to use that collision to propel you closer to Him?
By Kerry Messer
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Thank you!!! This is perfect timing for me. An opportunity to really help someone in a huge way was given to someone else and I have been so sad. But I see it differently now. And our move and this lonliness and just life in general…these lines straight to my heart! Why do ai try so darn hard to steer my life. He’s got this!!!!
” How much of this bowling triumph was due to the strength and accuracy of the tiny bowler? What role did the bumper play?
In the bowling game of life we are unskilled children and the boundaries of our struggles are God-ordained bumpers. His Word teaches us why he surrounds us with limitations,
Thank you!!! This is perfect timing for me. An opportunity to really help someone in a huge way was given to someone else and I have been so sad. But I see it differently now. And our move and this lonliness and just life in general…these lines straight to my heart! Why do I try so darn hard to steer my life. He’s got this!!!!
” How much of this bowling triumph was due to the strength and accuracy of the tiny bowler? What role did the bumper play?
In the bowling game of life we are unskilled children and the boundaries of our struggles are God-ordained bumpers. His Word teaches us why he surrounds us with limitations,
Oops sorry about double post!!
[…] join me over at (in)courage to see how God intends to turn your bumblings into blessings. photo credit: Brian Bonham […]
Boy, Steph, I hear you. Sometimes it’s hard to grasp that trials are really love songs from God to woo us back to him. Take heart, friend! He’s moving you toward Himself through it all. =)
Good stuff! Great encouragement for a heart heavy week! Love you!
Oh, Stephie Sue. I mean it when I say I’m praying for you. I love you, too! (((((hugs))))))
What a great post! Thank you for sharing with us!
I love the visual here. We are bouncing around this life within His boundaries. He offers us choices and trials, but all with the boundaries of His plan.
So true, Lisa – and knowing him is so much better than a strike. 😉
Wow! What a vivid illustration. Our humble, often awkward efforts + God’s slow and stready guidance and the occasional glimpse of His glory = joy, gratitude and confidence for our next turn. = )
Tracy, you did a great job of summarizing the truth I wanted to share. I hope you are involved in writing for your church…because you have a knack for getting to the heart of it!
When you collide with daily struggles, don’t allow yourself to linger in frustration. Search for how God wants to use them. I encounter struggles, especially at work, daily. I just tell myself how blessed I am compared to others.
I use my morning quiet time to thank God for His blessings and remind myself how He has blessed me enourmously!
Excellent suggestion, Beth. Focusing on the greatness of our God really does make our struggles seem smaller. You are also “preaching the truth to yourself” by looking past your needs and seeing how you can pray for others. Both great ways to let your “collisions” propel you closer to God!
Oh how precious and timely this was read! I just took 2 grandchildren under 4 bowling and the gutters may have saved my day for sure! The jumping and joy and the lound screams of joy for 10 frames were delightful. I repeat the same verse in and out the car seat manuerving all day…if jesus is in your roots ,then JOY (or any other fruit of the Spirit) is in your fruit! They inturn repeat different fruits all the day long..The joy was so high from bumper bowling:) I’ll always thank God for my bumpers until the day i meet Him! Blessings in Jesus…Our fruit of Life!
What a beautiful outlook (or should I say “up look”?) Sharon! Thanks for sharing your joy with us!
I love this analogy. 🙂
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