When Triumph and Tragedy Are Partners
by Dr. Michael Youssef

Over the past few years, many people have asked whether God is really in control. Trials, tragedies, and feelings of insecurity have altered the way we live. But there is no need to fear.

Tragedy and triumph frequently work as partners. As we trust God, we can experience restoration and resurrection as God brings a dying dream to life, heals our broken bodies, and mends our shattered lives.

In a beautiful cathedral in Europe, a magnificent stained-glass window towered above the altar. One day a violent storm shattered the resplendent window into a thousand pieces. The church's custodian hesitated to discard the multicolored fragments of glass. Instead, he put them in boxes and stored them in the church basement.

A well-known artist petitioned the trustees of the cathedral for the stained-glass fragments. They gave the boxes to him, not knowing his purpose. Two years later, the artist invited the church trustees to his studio where he unveiled his work. To their astonishment, he had re-created the stained-glass window - and the restored window looked even more beautiful than the original.

Most of us have experienced a blessing in the midst of a blasting storm. If you have been in this situation - or if you are there now - then you may not yet have experienced God's restoration work. But you will. God specializes in restoring our fragments into something more beautiful and more meaningful. God brings forth beauty from ashes (see Isaiah 61:3).

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Excerpted from My Journal, a monthly devotional magazine from Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008