​​His Inscriptions Blog

Life-Giving Communication with God
  His Inscriptions
  • Home
  • Prophetic Words
  • Give
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • About
  • Store
  • Prophecy Archive
  • Houses of Prayer
  • Articles
    • His Inscriptions: How God Speaks to Everyday People
    • Have Smartphones Replaced God?
    • How to Pray to God: 5 Easy Steps
    • How to Start a Christian Blog: A Guide for Writers
    • How You Personally Could Spark the Next Great Awakening
    • Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season
    • Silence: Your Secret Weapon
    • Overcoming Exhaustion
  • Contact
  • Bible Promises
  • Friends We Support
  • How to Know God
  • Donor Thank You Return Page

Pieces of the Puzzle

9/21/2015

 
Jigsaw pieces

One of the benefits of walking with Jesus through this life is that we gain the advantage of perspective. My husband likes to picture it this way: imagine that you are walking along the “timeline” of life: a horizontal line with both a starting and ending point. The starting point would be Genesis and the ending point, of course, is the end of time, as pictured in Revelation.

God, however, lives outside of time. He is the Creator of it, yet is not bound by it. Picture God as residing somewhere above our imaginary timeline, seated on His throne, and able to see both beginning and end at once because of His “omniscient” position.

When we connect with God as believers, our spirits are no longer bound by time or distance because of the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit within us. God steps into our world through the Spirit who now dwells within us. The distance between us and God has been eradicated, and God now walks with us. He enters time.

Yet we also have the ability to ascend, in the Spirit, to a place that is outside of time. The Bible says that in Christ, we, too, are “seated in heavenly places,” and from this new position, we gain God’s perspective. (See Ephesians 2:6). It might be likened to the view the astronauts have when they soar into space and see the earth from afar.

Suddenly, we can see the “big picture.” The puzzle of life now has shape, definition, and form. We see how it all fits together, how it really looks.

A Prophetic Example

Seeing the big picture, however, has both blessings and pitfalls. In this highly connected digital age, it is easier than ever to see the big picture. And on a personal level, our newly-acquired perspective sometimes confuses us. 

Suddenly, we are overwhelmed by the needs we see – the gaps in the “ministry” puzzle which so obviously need to be filled. There is no way that one believer can meet all the demands of the worthy ministries we come into contact with. Where are the laborers, we ask? Should I be stepping in to fill this gap? Many pieces of the puzzle seem to be lost or missing. Leaders, especially, can be tempted to yield frantically to the search for missing pieces in a valiant attempt to complete the puzzle. 

Unfinished Jigsaw Puzzle

Just as God expands our vision prophetically to release strategies for Kingdom growth, so the enemy tries to stretch us to capacity as we seek to fill ministry needs we are not called to fill. Whether at a local or a national level, we are forced to see that there are gaps (still!), and also that we cannot possibly fill them ourselves.

Fortunately, this is a good place for us to land. Our new perspective shows us both the greatness of the mission task and our utter inability to fulfill it alone. The solution, as always, is to do things God’s way: to ask Him for His strategies, so that others might be enabled to find their places in the big picture, too.

A jigsaw puzzle must be completed piece by piece, in a certain order, before the placement of certain sections will be revealed. Without connecting preliminary pieces, it will not be known how others are to fit in. Only God can show us what’s next and where we belong.

Many of us have prayed, “Lord, show me where I fit in. Show me which piece of the puzzle I am. Should I be in this section, or that one? Am I at the top or the bottom? Where are the pieces I should be connecting to?”

I prayed a similar prayer not too long ago. Faced with mounting pressure from ministry needs and gaps I could see in the divine puzzle, I felt confused. There were simply too many needs for me to fill - needs I could fill and had even been prepared for – in other words, too many viable options. Like a puzzle piece suspended over a work in progress, I couldn’t see where I should fit at the time. God’s answer surprised me.

“Despite how you may feel,” He said, “you have already been placed within my Kingdom puzzle. I have divinely ordained the place where you live and the Body you are a part of. Based upon your true colors and your personal design, you have been set into a section of My puzzle where you can snugly connect with others around you. You have only to reach out and explore those connections. Like interlocking tabs and slots, you are made to work with those around you, holding larger sections of the puzzle together. Start where you are locally and your reach will extend globally.”

It can be tempting to try to “fit in” somewhere that we don’t belong – somewhere He has not created us to be. Even more so when the gaps seem overwhelming and the needs pressing. By all means, meet the needs you can meet. Reach those within your reach. But don’t allow the enemy to use the perspective you gain to pull you out of your God-given position in His overall plan.

What, then, of all the gaps in ministry? Jesus recognized them, too. Even as a man like us, walking our timeline, He saw the big picture. The fields are white for harvest, He said. Pray for laborers to be sent out. (See John 4:35; Luke 10:2).

Perspective should be met with prayer. When we pray, the hand of God moves ever more swiftly to scoop up the next pieces of the puzzle, setting them carefully into place. The gaps will close, and the image will be clear. The picture we are completing is the image of His glory. And the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. (See Habakkuk 2:14).

Picture
c.DeborahPerkins / His Inscriptions
Picture
Deborah Perkins is passionate about connecting others with God. She writes about knowing God and hearing His voice at His Inscriptions. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook, or contact her directly here.

    Free Link to the Subscriber Resource Library when you join His Inscriptions!

    SUBSCRIBE FREE
    Deborah Perkins, Author and Founder of HisInscriptions.com
    About
    ​Deborah Perkins

    RSS Feed

    Click to Order Deborah's Books on Amazon.com
    Picture
    Author Deborah Perkins' books on Amazon.com
    Picture
    Member, Advanced Writers & Speakers Association
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    America
    Bible
    Book Reviews
    Christianity In Culture
    Church
    Communication
    Communion
    Consecration
    Creativity
    Deliverance
    Easter
    End Times
    Evangelism
    Events
    Faith
    Family
    Fear
    Feasts
    Finances
    Forgiveness
    Friendship / Intimacy With God
    Glory
    God The Father
    Government
    Grace
    Healing
    Hearing God
    Heaven
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Humor
    Interviews
    Israel
    Jesus
    Judaism
    Justice
    Leadership
    Lifestyle
    Love
    Ministry
    Missions
    Passover
    Peace
    Persecution
    Prayer
    Prophecies
    Prophecy
    Protection
    Relationships
    Rest
    Revival
    Satan
    Service
    Suffering
    Supernatural
    Technology/Social Media
    The Bible
    Trials
    Trust
    Warfare
    Women
    Worship
    Youth

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Author

    A severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice.  A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
    You can follow her on social media using the links above. To subscribe to her weekly blog (free) by email, click here. 


    Salvation Pic
Photos from leireunzueta, kelgal77, graphia, Orin Zebest, MartialArtsNomad.com, put_the_needle_on_the_record, zeevveez, rebamae, jonycunha, traveling.lunas, Newport Geographic, Alexandre Dulaunoy, popofatticus, brendan.lally....away, adamfarnsworth, piropiro3, fabiane13, Luis Roberto Lainez, Snake3yes, ceasedesist, Kevin Shorter, dustinj, feryswheel, rghisi, stuartpilbrow, BLMOregon, Didriks, .Martin., jonseidman1988, feelsgoodlost, francisco.j.gonzalez, imagine_reality, Jay Aremac, Northwest Rafting Company, amsfrank, qmnonic, PhoTones_TAKUMA, chatblanc1, garryknight, limaoscarjuliet, V31S70, lcm1863, Jayel Aheram, SimpleSkye
  • Home
  • Prophetic Words
  • Give
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • About
  • Store
  • Prophecy Archive
  • Houses of Prayer
  • Articles
    • His Inscriptions: How God Speaks to Everyday People
    • Have Smartphones Replaced God?
    • How to Pray to God: 5 Easy Steps
    • How to Start a Christian Blog: A Guide for Writers
    • How You Personally Could Spark the Next Great Awakening
    • Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season
    • Silence: Your Secret Weapon
    • Overcoming Exhaustion
  • Contact
  • Bible Promises
  • Friends We Support
  • How to Know God
  • Donor Thank You Return Page