In Genesis 1:1-2, we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface.” Sometimes our lives feel formless and empty. It has often been said that life happens while we are making other plans. There isn’t a person alive who doesn’t have dreams and hopes. These dreams and hopes are for good things, not pain and despair. Yet, life brings us both the good and the bad.

Have you ever noticed that we go to the doctors and undergo tests expecting a good report? Yet, we don’t always receive good news. Sometimes the report is bad, sometimes it is devastating, and like the verse above, life suddenly feels empty and dark. Hope is replaced with despair and worry. What we believed to be certain one moment can vanish the next. Our hopes, dreams, and plans for tomorrow can disappear in an instant.

Paul states in Romans 8:28-29 that we know God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. Having chosen them, he called them to come to him. He gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory. The promise of this passage is that God can take the chaos of life and bring beauty out of it. The real question is about trust. Do we trust Him enough that, despite the darkness, emptiness, and feelings of despair, we can believe that even in this, He has a plan, and that plan is for our good.

We each need to remember that God brings order out of chaos and creates beauty from ashes. The problem is that we fix our eyes on the problem instead of the problem solver. The question is simple: what are your eyes focused on? Think about it.