A few weeks ago my sister and her 3 kids came to visit. Together with my own, that made 5 kids of the “4 foot and under” variety playing in the basement.
They did their thing. Played with toys in ways I’m sure the manufacturers never intended. Took just about everything out of its designated spot and introduced it to various playthings from every other part of the room. “Chick town,” a miniature community which remains set up as part of my children’s ongoing play, was partially destroyed by toddler activity. If a Barbie-sized governor had happened to fly over the basement in a remote controlled helicopter, I’m sure we would have received emergency funding for disaster relief.
The kids tried to clean up, but their mess was just too big for them. It was beyond their capabilities. They couldn’t grasp the overall picture of what needed to be done to make it right again. So I stepped in. And as I went around cleaning up (2 days later…I kept the door shut avoiding the mess for that long afterward), I was grateful we have a God who does the same thing for us.
I love the NLT version of Psalm 139:5, “You go before me and follow me…” It reminds me that sometimes we make messes too big for us to handle. We can try to put broken pieces back together, repair relationships, make things right again–but often it’s beyond our capabilities. We need a Heavenly Father to go behind us and do what only He can—work it all together for good.
No mess is too overwhelming for God. Nothing is beyond His capability. Let Him go behind you and make goodness out of your devastation, neatness out of your chaos, and beauty out of your messes.