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God Doesn't Make Mistakes

A few months ago I was talking with my dad. I was venting about something that had been bothering me. I felt discouraged and above all defeated that I couldn't control the situation at all. My dad has always been a great listener and a man of few words. But, on this night, he reminded me of something my Mom once said.

It became evident early on that my brother struggled with reading and writing. We were home schooled, and the weight of teaching fell on my Mom's shoulders. I never, even on the hardest day, remember my Mom complaining about having to spend more time explaining things to my brother. When I think back on those days I can imagine how hard it must have been for her to watch her son struggle. In time, my parents decided to have my brother tested for learning disabilities. The results were just as they'd suspected: ADD and Dyslexia. After the results had been explained my parents went for a walk to talk about what this meant for my brother. My dad, like any parent, was so sad. Yes, there was medicine to help and ways to cope, but no one wants anything to be hard for their child. As my Dad shared this with my Mom she quietly listened. When he finished she looked at him and with a total peace she said, "God doesn't make mistakes."

Those words were so simple and yet so profound for the place I found myself. Not a day has passed since that conversation that I haven't thought of those words. God, in His infinite mercy and love for me, has made no mistakes.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Psalm 139, particularly verse 5: "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me." The King James Version uses the word "beset" which means to encircle, enclose, or besiege. God, in His infinite mercy and love, has beset me. He's made no mistakes.

As I've studied this passage, I found a commentary by Charles Spurgeon that I think says it perfectly:

"As though we were caught in an ambush, or besieged by an army which has wholly beleaguered the city walls, we are surrounded by the Lord. God has set us where we be, and beset us wherever we be. Behind us there is God recording our sins, or in grace blotting out the remembrance of them; and before us there is God foreknowing all our deeds, and providing for all our wants. We cannot turn back and so escape him, for he is behind; we cannot go forward and outmarch him, for he is before. He not only beholds us, but he besets us; and lest there should seem any chance of escape, or lest we should imagine that the surrounding presence is yet a distant one, it is added,—And laid thine hand upon me."

The God of the Universe, in His infinite mercy and love, has hemmed me in and wrapped His arms around me. He doesn't make mistakes.

Comments

  1. The SmithsJanuary 20, 2011 at 7:49 PM

    wow, such a good reminder for me...thanks, friend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jillJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:35 PM

    love this. so much so that i just put it on a couple of hot pink note cards ... one for the house and one for the classroom. love it! thanks, pretty girl. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lindsay @ Hattan HomeJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    Love Mare! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2012 at 3:56 PM

    This is so encouraging...
    thanks for sharing(:

    ReplyDelete

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