As I travel around our state, I enjoy reading church signs. One that caught my attention recently said, “Trade God Your Pieces for His Peace.” That makes a lot of sense. How do we do that? I have pondered that question and realized that different people have different ways of finding themselves in pieces.
My very favorite Christian song was introduced by the Imperials a few decades ago. It is titled “Pieces” as recorded by the Imperials. I will share some of the lyrics. The first ones are, “Pieces, pieces. So many pieces to my life. Scattered all around, and some of them are gone, and I know that I can’t ever put them back together again.”
Despair Can Tear Us to Pieces
So many are distressed, disillusioned and despondent. It must be a miserable life when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no hope because all seems hopeless. We can look back on our past and pull up memories, and while trying to remember the good times, the bad ones seem to pop up too often. Life is in pieces, and we just can’t put those pieces back together again.
When Nothing No Longer Seems to Fit
More lyrics say, “Pieces, pieces. So many pieces to my life. A puzzle left unfinished, jumbled and unformed. Who can really ever fit it all together again?” Some say that believers are never supposed to get down or depressed. What? Someone should have told King David that!
David wrote, “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me” (Psalm 13:2 NIV1984). Without a doubt, David was a believer. He sang to the Lord continually. Still, his thoughts tore him to pieces. Life seemed hopeless, and he felt helpless. A king should have everything, yet he felt like he had nothing. Nothing seemed to fit. His life was in pieces.
Our Answers are Found When We Trust in Jesus
Here are more lyrics: “In a vision, like a daydream that filters through your mind, I saw Jesus coming closer, holding all my hopes combined. He spoke with great compassion As He put one hand on me. And in His other hand, He held what I could never see.” When we see what looks like a chasm before us, Jesus just sees a pothole in the road. When we think that because of yesterday’s problems, everything is falling apart, Jesus sees our future and knows what He can do for us. It’s really a matter of patient trust.
David wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:1-3).
Give God Your Pieces and Receive His Peace
The final lyrics of that song are, “He said, ‘Pieces, pieces. I’ve got all the pieces to your life! A thousand tiny fragments of every single day. I can put them all together, and there’ll never be another one who can.’” So many believe they can handle their problems alone. People — believers and unbelievers — need the Lord! “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
