Ain't Nothin' God Can't Use

As I sit at my desk wondering what to write for this first blog post of another new year, a glimpse out my office window speaks to my heart. It’s been a cold, blustery day. The snow has stopped falling, the wind has settled down, the sun is setting. The cloud cover has broken in the west just enough to tease me with a glimmer of sky the color of ripe, freshly sliced cantaloupe. The crisp whiteness on the evergreens and the sparkly blue balls hanging inside my window breathe beauty into winter’s harsh reality.

People find much to feel angry about. Frustrated about. Fearful, sad, and disappointed about. Persistent and fast-spreading variants of Covid-19 have cancelled or postponed holiday celebrations. Family members missed out due to close contacts or positive test results or merely to obey the gathering rules. We’ve had to hold loosely every hope and dream, knowing our plans will change frequently, and often at the last minute.

We’re tired. This has dragged on long enough, we say. Is this how life is going to be from now on? Will it never end?

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but I’m not sure anyone believes that anymore. This pandemic has killed many, literally and figuratively. Besides actual physical death from the virus, it has brought death in other forms. Suicide is rampant. Domestic violence is at an all-time high. Marriages are ending. Factions have formed. Trust has dissolved. Dreams and hopes are dying all around us. Are we stronger?

For those of us who truly believe God could end this with one word, the pandemic might create a crisis of faith. He could end it, yet he does not. We wonder why. Doesn’t he love us? It’s easy to conclude God might be all-powerful, or he might be loving, but he surely cannot be both.

I still choose to believe he is both. Though I have no idea why he allows this to continue, I trust him enough to believe he has his reasons. So far, none of our names are on the need-to-know list. My daily prayer these days is, “God, if we must go through this anyway—and apparently, we do—please don’t let us waste it. Don’t let me waste it. Use the difficulty to make me stronger. Kinder. More compassionate and understanding. Wiser. Braver. Whatever you want, however I need to change, do that. In me. Through this.”

Author Mary Jane Holt says, “Ain’t nothin’ God can’t use to get folks thinking about him and eventually seeking to know him.” I love that.

Ain’t nothin’ God can’t use to teach and to reach us.

Ain’t nothin’ God can’t use to restore the broken.

Ain’t nothin’ God can’t use to improve our perspective.

Ain’t nothin’ God can’t use to bring hope to the hopeless.

Ain’t nothin’ God can’t use to make us more like himself. To make us love each other better. To make us more helpful and less judgmental. More patient, less demanding. More courageous, less fearful. More humble, less entitled. More peaceful, less anxious.

That sliver of rosy sky in the west tells me the sun is still shining even if I cannot see it. It will make itself brilliantly evident once again—if not tomorrow, the next day. Its Creator will do the same, in his perfect time.

He won’t force transformation upon us, but he’ll help us change when we seek his help. When we open ourselves to growth. After nearly two years of this, you’ve already proven you can do hard things. You’re going through this anyway, like it or not. Wouldn’t it be a shame to waste it?

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)