Nothing is Wasted

I was listening to the song “Nothing is Wasted” one morning this week.  I love the message of this song: “Nothing is wasted.  You work all things for good.  Nothing is wasted.  Your promise remains.  Forever you reign.”  I need to be reminded of this often…and I’m sure you do to.

The truth is we all make mistakes…alot of them.  Some are bigger than others, and we deal with the consequences to varying degrees.  We have all experienced the lingering regret of time we felt was wasted.  Seasons where we invested so much energy and time to no avail.  I was talking to a friend of mine last week.  She has been through a long period of waiting and has invested a huge chunk of herself into a certain situation.  She has no idea what the outcome will be, but one fear that comes to mind is what if I just wasted all this time and energy?  What if at the end of all this, I regret all this time that I spent here that I can never get back?  Have you ever been through a situation like that before?  I have.

The truth of the matter is that when you live in relationship with Jesus, nothing is wasted.  Ever.  No matter how long the season, no matter how long the wait, no matter the result, it’s not wasted.  God uses each circumstance to shape you and to mold you.  He uses each experience to prepare you and equip you for what lies ahead.  Jesus uses all of your mistakes and every painful circumstance to take you one step closer to walking in fulfillment of the man or woman He has called you to be.  There is a lesson to be learned in each season.  The lesson is often unclear in the moment of confusion and chaos.  Train yourself to step aside for a moment and ask God what are you saying in all of this?  How can I grow from this?  How are you changing me through this?  When you train your mind to think along these lines, you will more readily see the “nothing is wasted” principle at work.

Later the same morning, I read this scripture: “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy” (Psalms 126:5).  There are certain situations in my own life that still bring me to tears, when I stop to think about them.  There are certain things that have caused me a great deal of pain and where I can be tricked into believing that I wasted my time.  However, looking back throughout the years, there are more situations than I can count that initially brought me pain, but then God came through.  He poured out His grace and shone His light into those dark circumstances and delivered me.  He restored me and He transformed me through the pain.  For this reason, I know that I can trust Him to do it again.  I anticipate it and I expect it.

Into what situations in your life, are you sowing your tears?  Put your trust in God.  He will carry you through.  And through your pain, He will birth songs of joy.

Nothing is wasted.