God Dots
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Remember those little follow the dots puzzles we used to do in grade school? Maybe I’m dating myself here, but I loved those! I called them “dot-to-dot” pictures. Follow the dots, beginning at number one, and when you get to the end, you have a picture! Well, I believe that God does the same thing with us. He gives us little dots here and there, to get our attention, connecting the dots as He goes.
Just exactly how far will God go to get our attention or better yet, to work everything together for our good? I used to wonder that myself. When I was in the most hopeless time of my life, I wondered how in the world God was going to make something good of the depression that just wouldn’t seem to leave me alone.
I often wondered, while feeling the worst anxiety attack welling up from deep within me, knowing I was powerless to stop it. I wondered just how God was going to use this for good. Then I would sigh as the panic eased off and lessened, thanking Him for letting it go away.
But the night I was healed and launched into the ministry of telling my story so others could be encouraged, I looked back and saw all the dots that God had been connecting throughout the years, creating a beautiful dot-to-dot picture!
God Dots… those little encounters, little pieces of our lives, people, places, and things, that God brings into and out of our every day. Each one of those things is one more dot that God uses to build our testimony, our story, our ministry.
God places people in our lives to steer us toward our destiny, to help us to grow and learn and to build our character so that when we encounter someone else who is hurting, we can help build them up.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. ~Genesis 50:20, NLT
Of all the intimidation, depression, anxiety, and other things I went through over the years, God was teaching me and giving me someone to look back on so that when I met another who suffered those things, I could say, “Hey, I understand that. I used to deal with that too. Let me tell you what God did for me.”
It’s not bragging on oneself to tell someone else how God has worked in your life. It’s not being arrogant to tell another how God healed you. On the contrary, it’s bragging on God! It’s bringing Him glory and ministering to another who’s suffering.
The whole point of my ministry is to bring glory to God; to make Jesus famous. Because without Him, I wouldn’t BE healed! However, I would not be where I am today without many other people and situations throughout my life. To list everything would take too long, but suffice it to say that each little and big thing that I have gone through were the God Dots that led me to this point in time.
Look around you. Can you see your God Dots? Can you see the littlest of things that God has placed in your life that has led to the greatest things? You may not have thought that something bad in your life could have ended up being something good, but let me tell you this: What the enemy meant for harm, God turned it into good, or He’s just about to! He’s groovy like that. Because God doesn’t give us the bad things in our lives, the enemy does. But God is so much bigger than the enemy and He can fix everything!
If you’re going through a rough spell, don’t fret! Look at it and know that it’s going to be just another God Dot. Follow it backwards and look at all the other God Dots that it’s connected to and get excited, because the next dot will bring you closer to something utterly amazing!
Be thankful for your God Dots!
