God Speaks to Me | shekinahsonshine.com

Restore My System

How can a puzzle lead to restoration? My system was misconfigured; and it had to be restored.

For weeks I had been struggling to build an interactive crossword using the names of male characters from the Bible. Each name had been selected for a specific reason. After entering the names and clues in the crossword maker program, I clicked a vital button. Build the puzzle. Nothing. Several times I clicked the command and received no response. I printed out the answers and clues then quit the program. A few minutes later, I tried again.

Have you ever experienced rejection during your attempt to build your life? Did this futility occur at a critical time, when you had all the right clues and the solution to the situation or problem? During my second attempt to build the puzzle, I was interrupted and had to shutdown hurriedly. Since I had a copy of the clues and answers, I decided to build the puzzle by hand. After all, I have been constructing puzzles from scratch for at least a generation.

Application of biblical principles and the lessons of life are critical to growth. God sat me down.

The LORD is my Shepherd;

I shall never lack.

I stand upon His promises;

His promises are not slack.

God constructs the puzzle of His will. In February 2000, God spent one week teaching me principles from Psalms 23. At the end of the week, I had the first draft of a prose book with twelve chapters. The approach was different. In December 2002, after a fireside chat, the book was mentioned again. God wants it published; and He uses every opportunity to remind me.

The problem I was experiencing with the puzzle indicated that God is at the forefront of every challenge, every vicissitude in life. He knows about them; and He has a perfect plan, a perfect solution. Through Bible study, prayer, righteous counsel, meditation, and countless ways, man obtains solutions and clues. My literature background told me that God was foreshadowing an event.

God constructs the puzzle of our experience with love, wisdom, foreknowledge, mercy, grace and kindness. He mingles longsuffering with joy..

While I was meditating on the quatrain and Psalms 23:1, I was inspired to write Come Servant, Come. Although I had written an article on that subject previously, using the same text, God wanted me to look at it again. With Search God's Word on my desktop, finding the desired text in any version and being able to read a commentary too was an asset. In addition, I had the standard Bible and Strong's Concordance. The problem I was having constructing an interactive puzzle was leading me to green pastures so that I could lie down beside the still waters and nestle in the will of God. He had my attention!

Although I searched for puzzle makers and found some, I was dissatisfied with all of them. Thus I made my own puzzle on lined paper then graph paper. Then I thought: Was there a program on my computer to help me? Word Perfect 9 seemed ideal until I had to shade in the unused blocks. An interactive puzzle was insignificant now. All I wanted was a puzzle. The Help button was available; and the office assistant answered my call. As I explored the available resources, I discovered valuable information. The discovery forced me to reach one conclusion.

Search God's Word. Those who search the Bible for clues to the puzzles of life realize that Jesus is the answer. Since Word Perfect 9 was not the answer, I tried Hot Potato. After completing the answer and clues to the puzzle, the answer puzzle displayed. However, I received a message that the puzzle could not be viewed. Since I had downloaded Netscape 6 already, I decided to use the alternative: Internet Explorer 6.

The source I downloaded from had a wizard who was trying to sell me a product; and it was annoying. I was dissatisfied with the situation and deleted the program from the desktop and system. I tried a second download and experienced some problems. In my attempt to correct those problems, I misconfigured my computer. My puzzle experience had reached its apex. I could not remember my password; and I could not get online! I created a new password; but I needed help that was outside my knowledge of computers.

There is a solution to every problem, puzzle, situation and dilemma in life. Jesus is the answer. I asked Him for wisdom then went to the control panel. Who understands everything? I was ignorant; so I left some items untouched. My computer needed to be restored. Microsoft was given the responsibility of restoring my operating system because I asked for their help. Now, if Microsoft has a safety mode when we make a mistake, what do you think about God? Well, I lost Lotus and a few items that used to appear at the bottom of the screen. I did not use them anyhow; and if I ever need them, they can be located or purchased. Okay, I was unsuccessful in constructing a web page with an interactive puzzle. Internet Explorer is on the desktop; and the page does display. I am simply thankful to God that I did not have to call in a technician. What I am charged for one hour of work is equal to almost four hours of pay for me!

In order for the system to be restored, it was necessary to go back in time. God is awesome! When God restores us, He takes us back to our first love, memories of our relationship with Him. We become hungry for righteousness and His presence. Do you need your system restored