God’s Golden Threads

I love reading biographies. Learning about the journey of someone’s life that I admire is fascinating. Their path is rarely a straight line. Twists and turns, success and failure, encouragement and discouragement mark the fabric of their life. The patterns and pieces come together in life’s rearview mirror. I often forget that God is creating a tapestry of my life. When I encounter a blind curve or unexpected disappointment, I forget that I am God’s beloved and the promise of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

The promise is not that everything we experience is good but that God will produce something good in our life when we love Him and yield to His purpose. When discouragement sets in and the feeling that I am not enough, it is easy for me to forget my life matters to my heavenly Father. Allowing these thoughts to take root can lead me to the deep trap of comparing myself to others and measuring my sense of self-worth by the worldly view of success through accomplishments, financial success, or influence. God never uses these things to value me. I am His child, His beloved.

What does the conviction of things not seen mean?

The Lord continually reminds us through scripture that our lives, words, and thinking matter. All three are interrelated and are part of the ripple effect of our lives. Like a pebble thrown into the pond, we often see only the immediate ripples and not the final destination. Our lives are valuable to God. They influence our friends, family, colleagues, and future generations. From our life’s limited vantage point, we only see where we have been but do not see the complete journey before us. We live in the faith and assurance of our heavenly home, but the path to our eternal dwelling may be full of blind turns and shadows. We live in the unknowns of faith as described in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

I recently received a deeper understanding of this truth when I read the biographies of some Christians who influenced me. Brother Lawrence, a French monk in the seventeenth century, was one such person. While serving in the Thirty Year War, he had a spiritual experience that convinced him God could transform the human heart. Following the war and various menial jobs, Brother Lawrence became a monk, spending most of his time in the monastery kitchen, cleaning pots and cooking. Eventually, he became a sandal maker. Indeed, not noteworthy, but he loved God and believed that all work was meaningful to God.

Living for God

Brother Lawrence said we do not need to accomplish great things to please Him. The worker is as valuable to God as the priest. Over his lifetime, he wrote many letters and engaged in many conversations about his life with God. He wrote, “The greatest secret of living in the kingdom of God here on earth is the art of ‘practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.’” He often stated that “it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our soul. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence.” The ripple effect of Brother Lawrence was unforeseen by him. He lived for God and shared his experience with others.

He understood Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”. He died without imagining his letters and conversations would become a book read centuries later called “Practicing the Presence of God.” He knew and shared that he was beloved by God. He was faithful in the work and ministry God put before him. God took the offering of Brother Lawrence and multiplied it for generations selling over 22 million books.

We may not know the impact of our influence

I like to think of our lives not only as having a ripple effect but as a golden thread that binds people and events together in ways that shine and reflect God’s love and glory for generations. I saw this golden thread as I learned about the life of Tobias and Ollie Ham. Their names don’t pop up as one of the top 100 most influential people. Nor is their son Mordecai Ham known very well in current Christian circles. Tobias was a farmer in southern Kentucky and had at least six children. Each night Tobias faithfully read scripture to his children. Most likely, Tobias thought this was the extent of his influence.

However, God was weaving a golden thread for the future Kingdom of God. Through the ministry of his son, Mordecai, Billy Graham came to the Lord. Tobias and Ollie could not have imagined that as a result of their faithful scripture reading to their children, over 215 million people would hear the Gospel of Christ through the crusades of Billy Graham. The journey did not start with Billy, Mordecai, or even Tobias. The golden thread of faith grew and expanded through the eight generations of preachers who proceeded Tobias.

As I read about Brother Lawrence, Tobias, Ollie, and Mordecai, I thought about some of the people who wove golden threads into my life. My faith is the direct result of my Grandmother’s influence, who was orphaned, never drove a car, and was probably not educated past eighth grade. But her Christ-like example of love, simplicity, and humility carved a path of faith in me. Similarly, my first boyfriend’s mother, Fran, was a gracious example of the forgiveness and mercy of Christ. Instead of complaining about her loss from a home invasion robbery, she prayed for the intruders. She was concerned they didn’t understand the love and forgiveness of God.

These dear women wove golden threads of faith, love, and grace into my life, along with many others. They loved their Heavenly Father and sought to live sincere, Godly lives. I am the beneficiary of their faithfulness.

The golden thread continues on

I may not influence the next Billy Graham, but my life and your life can be the beginning or part of the continuum of a golden thread in the life of another as we live for the Lord. A simple smile to a stranger can change their day; it may be an answer to their prayer for someone to notice them. A prayer whispered for someone injured as we drive by a car accident or for a person who looks lost and lonely will reach the heart and ear of God. As we practice the presence of God, our life is transformed into the image of Christ. When we live as one who is beloved, we have the privilege of participating in the transforming work of God in the life of others.

I Corinthians 13:12 states, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face, now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.” Our God is doing mighty things in and through us when we choose to be faithful and trust him no matter the physical boundaries of our life. As we allow God to weave His golden threads into our lives, we are privileged to be part of the unseen but magnificent future tapestry of others.

Blessings,

“Your faith may be just a little thread. It may be small and weak, but act on that faith. It does not matter how big your faith is, but rather where your faith is.”
Billy Graham

Personal Parables practices:

Is there an area of my life I can begin to practice the presence of God in a new way?
What golden threads in my life can I identify?
Check out the life and ministry of Henrietta Mears a chemistry teacher from Fargo, North Dakota.

Personal Parables is the blog of Dyann Shepard. Get Dyann’s complementary study in Proverbs and prayer guide, What to Do When You Don’t Feel Good Enough. If you need encouragement to remember the truth about yourself in times of doubt and anxiety, this free 5-day study is for you. Follow Dyann and Personal Parables on Instagram and Facebook. Dyann is available for speaking, guest blogging, and article writing.

Scripture for Meditation

Ephesians 3:20-2 – Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Colossians 3:23, 24 NIV – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Luke 16:10 NASB – The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.

Colossians 3:17 – And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Romans 12:1, 2 ESV – I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.