Piece of the Puzzle...

I’m sure many of you have already heard about the attacks on John & Eloise Bergen, the missionary couple living in our town of Kitale, Kenya.

This is a horrific act that was done on two wonderful people who chose to give up so much to serve in this country. And yet, I am filled with amazement that despite the fact that they went through this ordeal, they still want to stay in Kenya, continue with the work that they were brought here to do. Such amazing faith!

Yesterday evening, I was reading through the book of Habakkuk. The book is a dialogue between God and Habakkuk. Habakkuk was asking God why He was allowing the oppression of the poor, the rising of the wicked, to happen.

Habakkuk 1:2,3

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?...Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.”

God’s reply:

Habakkuk 1:5, 2:3

“Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

Habakkuk 3:2,18,19

“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

I remember back in our Young Adults group quite a few years back, our friend Glen brought a 200-piece puzzle to our group. He had each of us pull just one piece of the puzzle and look at it. Then we went around the room and described what each of our puzzles looked like and what we thought the completed picture was, based on our pieces.

After a few minutes and going around the room, Glen unveiled the picture of the puzzle. Not one of us had gotten the completed picture correct.

We are just a single piece of God’s puzzle. We can not see the whole picture; we view things based on us and the few around us. We question God and why He did or allowed this or that to happen. But we don’t know His reasons behind it. We don’t see the whole picture.

And that is where our faith comes in. That is where we say, like Habakkuk, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Even in moments and times we don’t understand. That is where we are like Job, who lost everything and say, “As long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit…I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.” Job 27:3,4,6

So although we can’t understand the recent events of our friends, Eloise knew that Jesus Christ was right beside her (as said in her interview to CTV on Friday). . I am amazed by John and Eloise’s faith, perseverance and strength. That in itself speaks so much to me. There is a reason for it all and I choose to believe in Him.

Please continue to lift John & Eloise up in your prayers.

Much love,
Meredith