Haphazard Circumstances
How unexpected upheavals are a means to knowing Christ
Hi, Friends,
I came home from France last week to haphazard circumstances in the form of a broken hot water line, a leaking cold water line, and new cracks in my foundation. Praise God that my family was home and my husband caught the issue early and turned off the water! But now we’re planning a major unexpected home renovation less than two years after our last renovation.
Naturally, I’ve been anxious about all the unknowns, the project’s complexity, and the cost. But as I stood singing in church yesterday, God reminded me that he has provided and will provide. That he is a present and good Father who is taking care of me. And that I’ve allowed my mindset about this home to shift away from stewardship and into risk mitigation. The house has become an obstacle to my present peace and a burden on my future stability.
But Oswald Chambers has a hot take on circumstances like mine: They are a means of securing knowledge of Christ. I don’t exactly know how a major home renovation will do that (though the lyric about Jesus as our “firm foundation” lands anew), but I’m trying to trust that God has his glory and my good in store.
Whatever unexpected upheavals you find yourself facing this week, I pray you’re turning your eyes to know Christ better in the midst of them.
🧡 - Sarah Jo
Quote
The spiritual saint never believes circumstances to be haphazard, or thinks of his life as secular and sacred; he sees everything he is dumped down in as the means of securing the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
— Oswald Chambers
An Open Invitation
If something in this week’s reflection resonated with you–or if you find yourself pushing back–I’m glad to hear from you either way.
What circumstances do you find yourself in this week that feel without purpose? What if you reframed them as a means of knowing Christ?
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I've been recovering from asthma related issues from the smoke that moved through our area from a few days of controlled burns in an adjoining state. I'm doing fine, just still hitting my inhaler more than I normally do as my body rids itself of the particulates. Most people, the smoke moving through was a bother, but for me, I had to leave work to get away from it into a safe environment with filtered air. I am not sure how my asthma can be used for his glory and for my good, but I eagerly await to find out.