Saturday, June 23, 2012

God Doesn’t Make Straight Lines


A few years ago, I went over the handlebars of a bicycle and ripped open my right forearm. The gash was large and deep. Friends rushed me to the emergency room where the doctors stitched me up. Two days later, I had a fever of 103° and uncontrollable shakes. My doctor advised me to get to the ER as fast as possible. As soon as the check in nurse saw my arm, I was rushed ahead of the entire waiting room, and within minutes they had removed my sutures, allowing the poison in my arm to literally flow out, causing the nurse to step back and gasp.
They pushed an IV in my other arm and started me on antibiotics. The head nurse came in and said, “You will be here several days; this is not good.” Over the next three days, I watched the red infection consume my entire arm and progress to my shoulder. They were readying me for an amputation, as they had me on the strongest antibiotics we possess, and it did nothing. As a last resort, hospital staff wheeled me into a dark room where they called in an expert in sonogram reading. White-coated doctors and students filled the room as they used my body as a test case. Five minutes in, this specialist broke the eerie silence and said, “Nurse, take a picture of this. Does everyone see that? God does not make straight lines.” My head spun to catch the man’s eyes. I had never felt such relief. This doctor knew that I had something foreign in my body because God creates beautiful curves. The original doctor had left a one-inch sliver of wood in my arm, and it was killing me. The staff hurried me into surgery and removed this deadly straight line.
As I contemplate my life, I see curve after curve, bend after bend, and what appears to be, detour after detour. I have often considered these diversions as a nuisance keeping me from His purpose. The truth is God does not make straight lines. When one reviews the great men and women of the Bible, you will see that no one had a straight line. Instead, their life is marked with upsets, setbacks, and deviations. God then uses your personal experiences to propel His gospel in a way that no other man, woman, or child could possibly accomplish. You are unique, not so you can make money, become popular, or gain power. No, your life’s path contains curves and bends to spread the gospel to a dead world who desperately cries out for help. Embrace your apparent detour. Study it. Learn from it. And get ready, because God wants to use you, and you alone, to change eternity for a select few. God doesn’t make straight lines, so stop trying and simply rest in His leading, His wisdom, and His purpose. Life becomes more peaceful when we truly rest, knowing His love supersedes our own desires.

7 comments:

  1. Wow. Makes me think of my own life and career... always thought I would continue moving up. Has not happened... but I now take time to "smell the roses" instead of worrying whether or not my career was soaring. Thanks. I used to work with your dad in PA when he was head of PSP. Good guy and apparently the apple does not fall far from the tree! Tnx.

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    1. One thing most of us learn very quickly is that life does not go as we planned. I thought I would be many things, but God had different thoughts. Funny thing is, if He had given me my way, it would have fallen short of His grand plan. His ways are not only different than mine, they are better. Thank you for complimenting my dad! He is a good man that God continues to use for His purposes. I pray I can be the same empty vessel.

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    2. Aaron - your dad is amazing... always was. Thanks for this blog! I am at a very difficult point in my life. Age 55 and my career has peaked. I am praying that there is something else out there for me. I want a job where I can come home and say to myelf "I did good things for someone today." Keep up the good work.

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  2. Excellent message, well written. Allot of people will benefit by this blog. Sewing seeds of love, wisdom and knowledge is awesome.

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It is always humbling when someone takes time from their busy lives to read something I wrote, but the best part is when they benefit from reading it like I did from writing it. I pray you have an incredible day and an amazing life following the leading of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. See you on the other side.

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  3. Thanks Aaron for your reassuring words of wisdom. From our talks you know where God has me right now and your statement "Life becomes more peaceful when we truly rest, knowing His love supersedes our own desires" is spot on. We're can get so caught up in searching for His will, leading, and purpose that we fail to just rest in Him and his love for us right where we are. -Alan in PA

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    1. Well said Alan. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and I am thankful you heard from Him.

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